It’s just a little over a month-and-a-half away, but UFC Columbus continues to gain fights.
The most recent addition is one in the heavyweight division, as Ilir Latifi (15-8 MMA, 8-6 UFC) and Aleksei Oleinik (59-17-1 MMA, 8-7 UFC) will face off inside the UFC cage at the March 26 event. The UFC Fight Night card takes place at Nationwide Arena and airs on ESPN+.
A person with knowledge of the booking Friday confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. BJPenn.com was first to report the bout.
Oleinik, 44, is the oldest fighter on the UFC roster. He’s competed in more professional MMA fights than any other athlete on the current roster. He’ll look to snap a three-fight losing skid, potentially with his signature submission maneuver, the Ezekiel choke.
Latifi,38, returns for his third fight at heavyweight and his first since eye surgery. The medical procedure repaired injuries that nearly left Latifi blind. Latifi. Since he moved up from light heavyweight, Latifi is 1-1 with a loss to Derrick Lewis before a win over Tanner Boser.
With the addition, the UFC Columbus lineup includes:
- Aleksandar Rakic vs. TBA
- Amanda Ribas vs. Michelle Waterson
- Max Griffin vs. Neil Magny
- Sara McMann vs. Karol Rosa
- Tucker Lutz vs. Seungwoo Choi
- Askar Askarov vs. Kai Kara-France
- Danaa Batgerel vs. Montel Jackson
- Bryan Barberena vs. Matt Brown
- Nate Landwehr vs. Lerone Murphy
- Alexa Grasso vs. Joanne Wood
- Aliaskhab Khizriev vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov
- David Dvorak vs. Matheus Nicolau
- Marc Diakiese vs. Viacheslav Borshchev
- Luis Saldana vs. Bruno Souza
- Ilir Latifi vs. Aleksei Oleinik
