Nolan King, MMA Junkie Thu, October 22, 2026 at 7:30 PM UTC · 1 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two top light heavyweight up-and-comers will collide Dec. 5.
Former ONE standout Ivan Gnizditskiy will make his UFC debut as he takes on Uran Satybaldiev. The UFC Fight Night event is expected to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, though the promotion has yet to make an announcement.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Russia's Gnizditskiy (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has looked nothing short of dominant in his pro career. To date, his most notable victories came during his two-fight ONE Championship stint, as he quickly disposed of Kevin Church and then-undefeated Khurshidbek Bozarboev.
Kyrgyzstan's Satybaldiev (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has competed since August 2025, but the Ezekiel choke he pulled off in that outing vs. Diyar Nurgozhay may make it hard for viewers to forget him regardless of layoff. That victory bounced Satybaldiev back into the win column after a short-notice unanimous decision loss to Martin Buday at heavyweight.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Rising UFC light heavyweights booked for December showdown
Source: Sports
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