A new (and skinnier) “Joker” is coming to town.
Longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight contender Jack Hermansson is making a dramatic career pivot this weekend, dropping to Welterweight for the first time in his 33-fight career. He meets rising prospect Myktybek Orolbai on Sat., Nov. 22, 2025, at UFC Qatar inside ABHA Arena in Doha, Qatar.
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Hermansson (24-9) has spent his entire UFC tenure at 185 pounds — 18 fights over nearly a decade — but after years of alternating wins and losses, plus a brutal knockout at the hands of Gregory Rodrigues in his last outing (watch highlights), “The Joker” felt something had to change. Even at 37, he believes a fresh start at 170 pounds might be his last shot at making a real run.
“I misread his punch and got caught, but I still think I prepared well for that fight, and I think if I could have kept that fight going for longer, I would have done well,” Hermansson told reporters during UFC Qatar media day. “But it happened the way it did, and I needed to do something different, which is why the thoughts of going down to the Welterweight division came up…I’ve proven that I can compete with bigger guys at Middleweight, but I’m not happy with the inconsistency: a win, a loss, a win. I don’t want to look back at my career and feel like I didn’t do everything possible to find success.”
So, how is the first cut to 170 lbs going?
“It’s going well now and it’s been a learning process,” Hermansson said. “I’ve never had to restrict calories while training before. I’m used to eating whatever I want. Now I’m suffering … and someone is going to have to pay for it.”
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Orolbai, meanwhile, is also changing divisions — but in the opposite direction — moving up from Lightweight after missing weight in two straight fights (though not officially, as both were shifted to catchweights before weigh-ins).
Hermansson enters UFC Qatar as a slight underdog at +165.
LIVE! Watch UFC Qatar On ESPN+ Here!
MIDDLE EAST MAYHEM! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to action on Sat., Nov. 22, 2025, with an exciting main event set to headline UFC Qatar inside ABHA Arena in Doha. In the ESPN+-streamed main event, Lightweight contenders Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dan Hooker clash in a high-stakes, five-round bout. The co-main event features a Welterweight showdown between Belal Muhammad vs. Ian Machado Garry, with future 170-pound title shot implications on the line. The card will also showcase a Light Heavyweight showdown pitting Volkan Oezdemir vs. Alonzo Menifield, a Heavyweight collision featuring Serghei Spivac vs. Shamil Gaziev, and much more! The start time is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET (“Prelims” undercard) and 1 p.m. ET (main card).
Don’t miss a single second of face punching action!
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