FORMER CHAMPION JI?Í PROCHÁZKA TAKES ON UNDEFEATED NAVAJO STIRLING AS UFC RETURNS TO DOHA ON NOVEMBER 21

Doha, Qatar: Following last year’s successful debut, UFC®, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organisation, returns to Doha in partnership with Visit Qatar on Saturday, November 21, as former light heavyweight champion and No. 2-ranked Ji?í Procházka faces undefeated No. 5-ranked contender Navajo Stirling in a five-round main event at ABHA Arena. In the co-main event, former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling takes on No. 9-ranked featherweight Kevin Vallejos, who has won seven fights in a row.

Tickets for UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: PROCHÁZKA vs STIRLING are on sale via Visit Qatar Ticketing Platform.  Last year’s inaugural event at ABHA Arena sold out, so fans are encouraged to secure their seats early.

No. 2-ranked Procházka (32-6-1, fighting out of Brno, Czech Republic) returns to the Octagon® for the first time since April. The Czech fighter previously won the light heavyweight belt with a fifth-round submission of Glover Teixeira at UFC® 275 in 2022 before vacating it through injury. With 28 of his 32 wins coming by knockout, Procházka is targeting a statement finish to move back into title contention.

Standing across the Octagon® will be Stirling (11-0, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand), who arrives in Doha unbeaten and 6-0 in the UFC since earning his contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024. The New Zealander has stopped all three of his opponents this year, most recently finishing former champion Jan B?achowicz in the first round in August, and now aims to add a second former champion to his record.

In the co-main event, former UFC bantamweight champion and No. 4-ranked featherweight Aljamain Sterling (26-5, fighting out of Cortland, New York) and No. 9-ranked Kevin Vallejos (18-1, fighting out of Buenos Aires, Argentina) square off in a pivotal featherweight bout. Sterling defended the bantamweight title three times before moving up to 145 pounds, where he has gone 3-1, most recently beating Youssef Zalal by unanimous decision in a five-round main event in April. Vallejos has won all four of his UFC fights, including knockouts of Giga Chikadze and Josh Emmett.

Additional bouts on the card include:

  • No. 13-ranked lightweight Dan Hooker(24-15, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand), who headlined UFC’s first event in Qatar last November, meets two-time featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega(16-5, fighting out of Torrance, California), who moves up to lightweight.
  • No. 7-rankedAsu Almabayev(24-3, fighting out of Almaty, Kazakhstan) and No. 5Kyoji Horiguchi(36-6, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Florida), who both picked up submission wins at last year’s event, meet in a flyweight bout.
  • Former middleweight title challenger and No. 11-ranked Jared Cannonier(18-10, fighting out of Glendale, Arizona) faces No. 13 Ikram Aliskerov(18-2, fighting out of Makhachkala, Russia), who is on a winning streak.  
  • Shamil Gaziev(15-3, fighting out of Manama, Bahrain) comes off a first-round knockout of Kennedy Nzechukwu in August and takes on Brazil’s Tallison Teixeira(9-2, fighting out of São Paulo, Brazil) in a heavyweight bout.
  • Tahir Abdullayev(20-3, fighting out of Russia),who stopped Jefferson Nascimento on his UFC debut in June, takes on Australian veteranJake Matthews(23-8, fighting out of Victoria, Australia) in a welterweight bout.
  • Aleksandre Topuria(7-1, fighting out of Alicante, Spain), 2-0 in the UFC after a decision win over Bekzat Almakhan in Doha last year, facesSantiago Luna(8-1, fighting out of Baja California, Mexico) in a bantamweight matchup.
  • No. 9-ranked flyweight Amir Albazi(17-3, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada) meetsAlessandro Costa(17-5, fighting out of Puebla, Mexico) in a rematch, nearly four years after Albazi knocked him out in the third round.

The return of UFC Fight Night adds another major international sporting event to Qatar’s calendar, offering residents and visitors an opportunity to experience elite mixed martial arts action in Doha.

For more information on UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: PROCHÁZKA vs STIRLING and for the latest updates, visit ufc.com.  Tickets are available now via Visit Qatar Ticketing Platform. For those looking for details on local attractions and travel tips, visit the official tourism site at visitqatar.com.

ENDS

About UFC®         
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization, with more than 700 million fans and approximately 370 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world while distributing programming to an estimated 1 billion broadcast and digital households across 210 countries and territories. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 75 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC and @UFC on X, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok: @UFC.

Press Contact for UFC

Niamh Moran      Niamh.moran@ufc.com

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About Visit Qatar

Visit Qatar is the main arm of Qatar Tourism. Visit Qatar’s mission is to promote and expand tourism in Qatar by cultivating its rich culture, developing thrilling attractions, enhancing Qatar’s calendar, becoming the leading MICE destination in the region, diversifying events and luxury experiences. Visit Qatar is rooted in Service Excellence, boosting the entire tourism value chain, and increasing local and international visitor demand in Qatar. Through Visit Qatar’s network of international offices in priority markets, cutting-edge digital platforms, and marketing campaigns, Visit Qatar is expanding Qatar’s presence globally and enhancing the tourism sector.

Web: www.visitqatar,com