Tomorrow night, Eagle FC will officially touch down in the United States for the first time. The Russian led MMA promotion which is owned by former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will host their first event in the US.
Eagle FC 44 will take place in Miami and it starts at 6:00 PM ET. For all interested fans, the event is free to watch at EagleFC.com. The main event of the evening featuring a compelling matchup between two big heavyweights.
Former world champion kickboxer and undefeated boxer Tyrone Spong (2-0) will be competing in his third MMA fight. He will be taking on Pride, Bellator, and Strikeforce veteran Sergei Kharitonov (33-9).
Kharitonov lost fought in November when he stopped Fabio Maldonado. Prior to that, he lost in Bellator to Cheick Kongo. Eagle FC 44 will be the first time we’ve seen Spong compete in MMA since 2013.
After winning his first two MMA bouts, Spong has focused on boxing. However, Eagle FC was able to get him back into the cage and he will make the walk for the third time tomorrow. It’s obviously going to be key for him to keep the fight standing. If he does, this fight won’t last long.
Eagle FC 44 Preview
In addition to the heavyweights, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans (19-8-1) will be returning tomorrow night. The former UFC champion hasn’t fought since 2018 after losing five straight fights.
However, he came out of retirement at 42 for this fight in Eagle FC. He will be taking on Brazilian contender Gabriel Checco (12-5). Checco has mainly fought on the regional scene and he’s coming off of a TKO win back in October.
In addition to Evans, there are other UFC veterans that are competing at Eagle FC 44. Those fighters include Yorgan De Castro, John Howard, and Cody Gibson. Gibson will actually be taking on former UFC title challenger Ray Borg (14-5).
Borg will be making his second appearance after he briefly retired. There were a lot of personal issues with Borg that forced him away from fighting in 2020. When he was on, Borg was one of the best flyweights in the UFC.
He is going to be fighting Gibson at bantamweight. If he looks really good tomorrow night, it’ll be interesting to see what comes next for Borg. Overall, I’m expecting a very solid night of fights and I would definitely recommend tuning in.