The lineup for the UFC’s return to the Middle East this fall continues to grow with the addition of a lightweight matchup.
Ludovit Klein (23-5-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) is set to take on Mateusz Rebecki (20-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in a fight between a pair of Eastern European 155-pounders. MMA Junkie confirmed the booking with people with knowledge of the fight who asked to remain anonymous since the UFC has not yet made a formal announcement. The matchup first was reported by Marcel Dorff.
UFC 321 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) takes place Oct. 25 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. In the main event, heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall meets challenger Ciryl Gane. In the co-feature, the recently vacated women’s strawweight title is on the line when Virna Jandiroba takes on Mackenzie Dern.
Klein will be looking to bounce back from his first loss in nearly four years. In May, he dropped a unanimous decision to Mateusz Gamrot and had a seven-fight unbeaten streak snapped. In that run, he had five decision wins, a knockout of A.J. Cunningham, and a draw with Jai Herbert. But the momentum was halted by Gamrot in Las Vegas.
Rebecki will be looking for a return to the win column, as well. The DWCS product won his first three fights in the UFC, but in May 2024 was knocked out by Diego Ferreira in the third round. He rebounded with a Fight of the Night decision win over Myktybek Orolbai, but couldn’t make it two straight a month ago when he dropped a decision to Chris Duncan – though that, too, was a Fight of the Night winner.
With the addition, the UFC 321 lineup now includes:
- Champ Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane – for heavyweight title
- Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern – for vacant women’s strawweight title
- Mario Bautista vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
- Jailton Almeida vs. Alexander Volkov
- Azamat Murzakanov vs. Aleksandar Rakic
- Azat Maksum vs. Mitch Raposo
- Ikram Aliskerov vs. JunYong Park
- Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Chris Barnett
- Jaqueline Amorim vs. Mizuki Inoue
- Matheus Camilo vs. Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady
- Ludovit Klein vs. Mateusz Rebecki
