BURSTWith the UFC’s 2024 events schedule now in the rear-view mirror, there were so many great fights and moments over the past year that will become part of UFC lore.
Looking back at the past 12 months, I have taken on the unenviable task of building the ultimate 2024 fight card from the best of the best.
The fight card below was built with the main card consisting of only pay-per-view main card matchups or Fight Night main or co-main events, the late preliminary card built from pay-per-view prelims or Fight Night main card fights and the early preliminary card built using only Fight Night prelim and pay-per-view early prelim bouts.
In total, there will be 14 fights: five early prelims, four on the late prelims and five on the main card with the goal being to assemble the most entertaining fights from the past year compiled onto a single card.
ULTIMATE 2024 EARLY PRELIMINARY CARD
Marcus McGhee vs. Gaston Bolanos (UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2 on Jan. 13, 2024 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas)
This fight kicked off 2024 with a bang and it also opens our ultimate card with McGhee extending his finish streak by going toe to toe with a tough striker in Bolanos and getting the better of their exchanges throughout. The fight culminates with McGhee rocking Bolanos, who does what it takes to stay in the fight before getting rocked again with a spinning wheel kick to left cross combo that rocks him again before the fight is stopped by referee Mark Smith.
Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Priscila Cachoeira (UFC 297 on Jan. 20, 2024 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto)
It is rare to see a 10-7 scorecard in a UFC fight, but we got one here from Sal D’Amato after Jasudavicius put the hurt on Cachoeira, outlanding her 326-26 in total strikes in one of the most lopsided beatdowns that you will ever see.
Eventually Jasudavicius scored the finish on Cachoeira in the third round after back-to-back rounds of earning at least a 10-8 scorecard from all three judges. This was not exactly one of the best fights of the year, but if you want to get a crowd fired up early on, a fight like this doesn’t hurt.
Vinicius Oliveira vs. Bernardo Sopaj (UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev on March 2, 2024 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas)
After a slow start from Oliveira in the first where Sopaj was able to control him, mid-way through the second round, Oliveira completely turns the table on Sopaj, nearly finishing him at the end of the second. In the third round, Oliveira picks up where he left off, but Sopaj hangs tough until he gets hit by a picture perfect flying knee with roughly 20 seconds remaining in the fight in one of the most brilliant knockouts of the year.
A pure example of the importance of momentum in a fight.
Guram Kutatdeladze vs. Jordan Vucenic (UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov on Aug. 3 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi)
Vucenic accepted a short-notice assignment to face the always-tough Kutateladze and appeared up to the task in the first round where he dropped Kutateladze and tried to secure the finish before being wisely tied up by Kutateladze and prevented from scoring a 10-8 round.
Once the second round started, it was clear Kutateladze was not going down without a fight and after being outstruck by a near 6-to-1 margin in significant strikes in the first round, Kutateladze would land more significant strikes in the second and third round to secure the victory on the judges’ scorecards in this back-and-forth affair.
Renato Moicano vs. Jalin Turner (UFC 300 on April 13, 2024 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas)
Speaking of momentum swings, this fight, which is woefully out of place on the early prelims as a result of how stacked UFC 300 was, is another glowing example.
Moicano starts the fight with an early takedown and nearly three minutes of control time in a round that he is winning until roughly twenty seconds remain in the first round when he is absolutely decked by a brilliant left cross from Turner.
Possibly influenced by the recently instituted $300,000 bonuses for this landmark event, Turner decides to walk off yet Herb Dean isn’t convinced and Moicano gets up shortly thereafter, surviving the round. In the second, Moicano decides to stop playing around on the feet and lands a takedown, and after improving position several times, eventually gets to mount where he pounds Turner out and teaches him a valuable lesson about counting your chickens before they hatch.
ULTIMATE 2024 LATE PRELIMINARY CARD
Mateusz Rebecki vs. Myktybek Orolbai (UFC 308 on Oct. 26, 2024 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi)
This matchup between Rebecki and Orolbai told a tale of two up-and-coming fighters. Rebecki, who had his trajectory stifled earlier this year by Diego Ferreira in a lopsided beating took on Orolbai, who had been projecting Shavkat-like vibes from his first two UFC wins against Elves Brener and Uros Medic.
The result was a roller coaster with Rebecki starting strong and providing resistance against Orolbai, landing the bigger shots and winning the first round. The second round was entirely different with Orolbai exhausting Rebecki with forward pressure and a big takedown that opened up some ground-and-pound.
The final round took this fight to another level with Rebecki dropping Orolbai and throwing the kitchen sink at him. In what was trending towards a 10-8 round that was nearly finished, Orolbai gets a final shot of adrenaline and takes over in the second half of the round.
Rebecki ends up taking a split decision because one judge felt Orolbai had done enough to steal back the third after getting dropped in what may have been the fight of the year.
Chepe Mariscal vs. Morgan Charriere (UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Curtis 2 on April 6, 2024 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas)
This fight really could have used a crowd and if it had happened in Paris, it would be looked upon with more fondness than it does, but this was a phenomenal fight.
It started off a little bit slow with both fighters feeling each other out, but as the fight carried on, it started rolling downhill and became a frenetic, back-and-forth affair. The second round is one of the rounds of the year with both fighters exchanging clean shots. Ultimately, Charriere ends up winning a split decision in a fight that could have gone either way between two up-and-coming fighters.
Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva (UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. Cortez on July 13, 2024 at Ball Arena in Denver)
After missing weight for his featherweight fight with Charles Jourdain two weeks prior, Silva moved up to lightweight for a short notice fight against the always-tough Drew Dober.
Like most of Dober’s recent fights, this was a slobber knocker that did not disappoint and the Fighting Nerds disciple Silva was up for the task.
The first round was a tactical standup battle with back-and-forth striking exchanges and Silva opened up a cut above Dober’s eye. The second round was another example of Dober’s toughness as he brought the fight to his opponent with blood dripping into his eye. Ultimately, the judges sided with Silva, due to Dober walking Silva down and eating big shots along the way as the fans went wild.
The doctor checks Dober prior to the third round and they allow the fight to proceed to the delight of Dober’s hometown fans. However, that is short lived as Silva lands more shots and after 90 seconds, Herb Dean calls in the doctor and the fight is waved off.
Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic (UFC 300 on April 13, 2024 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas)
Prochazka vs. Rakic is another fight that ends up on the prelims as a result of its card placement on the stacked UFC 300 and what better way to lead into a main card than this absolute barnburner.
This fight had big implications in the light heavyweight division and Rakic did a great job of dictating the terms of the opening round, refusing to abandon his fundamentals and engage in a wild battle. He utilized his leg kicks to perfection and it was evident Jiri’s mobility was compromised. In the final minute of the first, Jiri starts to fire back and Rakic answers, which provides a preview of what is to come.
At the start of the second round, Rakic begins to connect on some bigger shots and that’s when the wheels start to fall off because he gets too comfortable and Jiri capitalizes by changing the fight’s narrative and turning it into the sort of improvisational war that allowed him to become a champion.
He hurts Rakic then begins to drown him with a flurry and all Rakic can do is fire back and hope to catch him, but instead, in classic Jiri fashion, he overwhelms Rakic and gets the stoppage.
ULTIMATE 2024 MAIN CARD
Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics (UFC 306 on Sept. 14, 2024 at The Sphere in Las Vegas)
With UFC 306 being formatted differently due to being at The Sphere, it meant there were fewer fights and with what was being coined a “one of one” event, the promotion must have been hoping that, in addition to the ingenuity of the venue, the bouts themselves would deliver the goods.
Zellhuber and Ribovics did just that in an epic war with the magnificent backdrop of the venue.
With a combined 653 significant strikes thrown, which is nearly one every two seconds during the fight’s 15-minute duration, Zellhuber and Ribovics delivered a battle for the ages that culminated in Ribovics absolutely rolling down hill in the third round with 92 significant strikes landed paired with a knockdown. The result was a split decision win for Ribovics in a sure-fire Fight of the Year candidate that delivered the goods on a night where the promotion needed fighters to do so.
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker (UFC 305 on Aug. 18, 2024 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia)
This fight was a gruelling affair as much of it was Hooker doing his best to neutralize Gamrot’s grappling, which has been a key to his success thus far in the UFC and has resulted in wins over the likes of Arman Tsarukyan and Jalin Turner.
Hooker was able to stifle Gamrot and despite ceding five takedowns, he was able to win the first and third round by doing the more meaningful damage. What made this fight so exciting was watching Hooker’s pressure win him the fight despite Gamrot being able to utilize his best weapons in the process. A classic example of Hooker gutting out a gritty win as he has done so many times in the past.
Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. (UFC 307 on Oct. 5, 2024 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City)
What would an ultimate fight card be without Poatan?
Rountree was a bigger underdog than Pereira’s other two 2024 opponents yet he was the opponent who offered the most resistance. Rountree was able to hurt Pereira in the early rounds of a back-and-forth striking affair, but ultimately, the damage inflicted by Pereira continued to pile up as the time ticked down.
In the fourth round, Rountree was badly hurt and had nothing left in the tank, which resulted in a clinical decimation where Pereira outlanded Rountree 63-15 in significant strikes before the referee had seen enough and put a stop to the fight with under 30 seconds remaining in the round.
A gutsy performance from Rountree, but Poatan proved to be too much in the longest bout of his 205-pound UFC tenure.
Co-main event: Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway (UFC 300 on April 13, 2024 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas)
In the third and final entry from the stacked UFC 300 card, our co-main event has the BMF Title on the line with Gaethje facing Holloway, who moves up to the lightweight division for only the second time in his UFC career.
This was the sort of dream fight that was “must watch” and it did not disappoint.
Prior to perhaps the most spectacular finish in UFC history, the fight was surprisingly lopsided with Holloway outboxing Gaethje for three straight rounds with his fleet of foot boxing and trademark volume.
It was in the championship rounds where this fight really delivered. With Gaethje clearly down three rounds, he finally starts rolling and lands big shots to Holloway, including what appeared to be a knockdown, despite not being officially credited as one.
In the fifth, Holloway wouldn’t be denied and started picking Gaethje apart up until the final seconds, which provided one of the most memorable moments in UFC history as Holloway pointed to the centre of the canvas. The two fighters throw down until Holloway knocks Gaethje out cold in the final second of a five-round fight.
Chef’s kiss.
Main Event: Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier (UFC 302 on June 1, 2024 at The Prudential Center in Newark)
This is potentially the most controversial entry on the fight card for two reasons. The first is that Poirier’s war with Benoit Saint-Denis earlier in the year likely deserved a spot on this card, but you can’t have a fighter compete twice in one night. The second is that Holloway’s win over Gaethje is likely the consensus Fight of the Year, but I decided to headline the card with a legitimate divisional title fight.
Poirier, a six-to-one underdog against Makhachev, turned what was expected to be a lopsided fight and, early on, certainly looked like one into a competitive, gutsy contest.
The first round is textbook Makhachev, he secures the takedown in the first minute and smothers Poirier. He eventually takes his back and fishes for submissions, but is unable to secure one.
From there, Poirier puts on his hard hat and turns up the pressure. He keeps the fight on the feet and walks Makhachev down, as the round is winding down, he is landing clean and the fans are loving it.
In the third round, Makhachev shows off his well-rounded skills that have him atop the pound-for-pound list to end the year. He mixes up his striking and grappling to perfection to shift the momentum back in his direction.
In the championship rounds, Poirier comes to life again and while Makhachev has some success at neutralizing Poirier, he spends the last minute of the round picking Makhachev apart with his striking.
With the fight entering the final round, there is a feeling that it could be even at two rounds apiece with the fight hanging in the balance (the scorecards would show otherwise after the fact) and that’s where Islam would not be denied.
Makhachev forces a grappling exchange, eventually gets a hold of Poirier and while he does his best to escape the situation, Makhachev does what he does best, finding a choke to retain the title.
While this fight doesn’t have the same sort of highlight reel finish as many that came before it on our fantasy card, the stakes were high, and it was a terrific championship performance for Makhachev and the very picture of what has made Poirier so beloved.
Complete 2024 UFC Ultimate Fight Card (from top to bottom):
MAIN CARD
— Main event: Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier
— Co-main event: Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway
— Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
— Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker
— Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics
LATE PRELIMINARY CARD
— Featured prelim: Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic
— Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva
— Chepe Mariscal vs. Morgan Charriere
— Mateusz Rebecki vs. Myktybek Orolbai
EARLY PRELIMINARY CARD
— Renato Moicano vs. Jalin Turner
— Guram Kutatdeladze vs. Jordan Vucenic
— Vinicius Oliveira vs. Bernardo Sopaj
— Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Priscila Cachoeira
— Marcus McGhee vs. Gaston Bolanos
