The UFC begins their Paramount deal with back-to-back numbered events on January 24th and January 31st. A week after that on February 7th, the promotion will return to the APEX and we learned today what the first APEX headliner will be for 2026.
Ag Fight first reported earlier today that top bantamweight contenders Mario Bautista (16-3) and Vinicius Oliveira (23-3) will square off in a pretty important fight for the bantamweight division with a spot in the top ten of the rankings on the line.
Bautista will defend his spot in the top ten as he will make the walk ranked ninth in the division (if there are no changes in the rankings). Bautista is coming off a tough loss to Umar Nurmagomedov back in October which snapped his eight-fight win streak. Prior to that loss, he collected wins over Patchy Mix, Jose Aldo, and Ricky Simon.
Vinicius Oliveira has wanted this fight to get revenge for Jose Aldo and he’s getting his wish. After earning a contract on The Contender Series back in 2023, Oliveira has gone 4-0 in the UFC. Most recently he won a decision over Kyler Phillips and prior to that, he earned Fight of the Night honors in his win over Said Nurmagomedov earlier this year.
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