UFC Fight Night storylines: Ante Delija makes quick turnaround

The action returns to the UFC Apex this weekend for a Fight Night card headlined by streaking featherweight contenders.

Steve Garcia and David Onama will aim to impress in what is the first UFC main event for both athletes.

Garcia has won six in a row, with five of them via knockout or technical knockout, and he has risen to the No. 12-ranked contender at 145 pounds. The 33-year-old from New Mexico is coming off an impressive three-round decision win over veteran Calvin Kattar in July and hasn’t lost since moving back down to featherweight three years ago following a stint up at 155 pounds.

Onama, meanwhile, moved up to No. 13 in the rankings after an April decision over Giga Chikadze. The 31-year-old from Uganda has won four in a row and six of his past seven overall.

This is the first time either fighter has been scheduled for a five-round bout in the UFC. Neither fighter has ever seen a fourth or fifth round at any level of competition. Onama has gone the distance five times in 16 professional fights, while Garcia has only seen the judges’ scorecards seven times in 23 pro bouts.

Here are some other storylines to keep in mind ahead of UFC Fight Night: Garcia vs. Onama… 

Delija makes quick turnaround: Ante Delija is one of the more interesting fighters in the UFC’s heavyweight division, even though he only has one appearance to date. The former PFL tournament champion is a friend and training partner of heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and coming off a successful UFC debut in early September. Delija needed only two minutes to dispatch perennial top-10 heavyweight Marcin Tybura less than eight weeks ago at UFC Paris.

The 36-year-old from Croatia broke down in tears after the win because not only was it the biggest win of his MMA career, but it avenged a previous loss that derailed his fighting career. Delija sustained a nasty broken leg when he fought Tybura at an M-1 Global event in 2015, which resulted in him missing almost three years due to multiple surgeries and setbacks as he recovered from the injury.

Delija has gone 14-3 since the injury and is 9-1 since 2022 with other notable wins over Renan Ferreira, plus UFC veterans Maurice Greene and Yorgan De Castro. He debuted in the rankings at No. 9 and he’ll look to make another jump when he takes on No. 6 contender Waldo Cortes-Acosta in Saturday’s co-main event. Cortes-Acosta is looking to bounce back from an August decision loss to Russian knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich.

Debuting DWCS alumnus: Donte Johnson earned a UFC contract in August thanks to a victory over Darrion Abbey on Week 3 of Season 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series. The five-foot-eight Johnson overcame a significant height and weight disadvantage in that 225-pound catchweight bout that saw him earn a 64-second TKO win. Johnson, a 26-year-old who trains out of Fond du Lac, Wisc., only turned pro 14 months ago, but he is already 6-0 with all his wins being due to strikes in the first round.

Johnson will make his UFC debut in the 185-pound division when he takes on experienced middleweight Sedriques Dumas, who’s coming off a no-contest in his most recent appearance six weeks ago when he was unable to continue in his bout with Zach Reese following a low blow just 51 seconds into that matchup.

Top bantamweights meet: Two of the top women’s 135-pounders will clash when Brazilians Ketlen Vieira and Norma Dumont step into the cage. Vieira, 34, is the No. 3-ranked contender and holds wins over past champions Holly Holm and Miesha Tate. Her only losses in the past four years were a split decision against former titleholder Raquel Pennington and a three-round decision to current champ Kayla Harrison. Dumont, 35, is ranked No. 4, riding a five-fight winning streak with her only loss in the past five years being a split decision to Macy Chiasson in 2022.

Fight of the Night contenders: There are a pair of welterweight matchups that should, on paper, be among the leading candidates for a post-fight bonus. On the prelims, both Philip Rowe and Seok Hyun Ko leave it all in the cage. Rowe has a 100 per cent finishing rate and is riding the momentum of an epic third-round comeback against Ange Loosa in June, while Ko has won five in a row and upset Oban Elliot in his UFC debut in the summer. That should be a fun one. Then, on the main card, 170-pound brawlers Charles Radtke and Daniel Frunza will both be looking for a highlight finish and likely a knockout. Radtke has a finish-or-be-finished mentality as a fighter and Frunza has only gone the distance once in his pro career.

Projected bout order for the 13-bout below (subject to change):

MAIN CARD

-- Steve Garcia vs. David Onama

-- Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Ante Delija

-- Jeremiah Wells vs. Themba Gorimbo

-- Isaac Dulgarian vs. Yadier del Valle

-- Charles Radtke vs. Daniel Frunza

-- Allan Nascimento vs. Rafael Estevam

PRELIMINARY CARD

-- Billy Elekana vs. Kevin Christian

-- Timothy Cuamba vs. Lee Chang-ho

-- Donte Johnson vs. Sedriques Dumas

-- Ketlen Vieira vs. Norma Dumont

-- Alice Ardelean vs. Montserrat Ruiz

-- Philip Rowe vs. Ko Seok-hyun

-- Talita Alencar vs. Ariane Carnelossi