Dana White (Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The UFC—or should I say TKO—is set to take over Kansas City in April.
On Wednesday, February 26, the UFC announced the main event for the Fight Night headed to T-Mobile Center in Kansas City on April 26.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal “Sweet Dreams” Hill will take on Khalil Rountree Jr. in the main event. The fight has the look of an epic stand-up battle between two proven KO artists.
Rountree’s last fight was his epic TKO loss to Pereira in a fight that saw him drop the champion before being stopped in the fourth frame at UFC 307 in October 2024.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 13: Jamahal Hill prepares to face Alex Pereira of Brazil in the UFC light … [+]
Hill lost to Pereira in April 2024 at UFC 300 via first-round TKO.
However, Hill is coming off a third-round TKO loss to Jiri Prochazka at UFC 311 in January. With Hill now on a two-fight losing streak, he’s in a must-win situation if he wants to maintain a spot in the Top 5.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 29: Khalil Rountree Jr. reacts after his light heavyweight fight against … [+]
He’ll come into the fight likely ranked No. 4 or No. 3, and Rountree is currently at No. 7. If Hill wants to get back to a title shot, he’ll need to beat Rountree and likely win two more times to put himself in position to challenge for the title again.
The UFC Kansas City card is looking stout—at least on paper. Here is a look at what’s in place so far.
UFC Kansas City Card (So Far)
- Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. – Light Heavyweight
- Anthony Smith vs. Mingyang Zhang – Light Heavyweight
- Michel Pereira vs. Abus Magomedov – Middleweight
- Giga Chikadze vs. David Onama – Lightweight
- Ikram Aliskerov vs. André Muniz – Middleweight
- Ahmad Hassanzada vs. Mitch Ramirez – Lightweight
- Jaqueline Amorim vs. Polyana Viana – Strawweight
- Cameron Saaiman vs. Malcolm Wellmaker – Bantamweight
- Chelsea Chandler vs. Joselyne Edwards – Bantamweight
- Matt Schnell vs. Jimmy Flick – Flyweight
That’s a total of 10 fights, which likely means more fights are on the way to the card.
It was a busy day for the UFC as Dana White also took to Instagram Live to announce Rafael Fiziev would be stepping in for the injured Dan Hooker to face Justin Gaethje in a rematch at UFC 313 on March 8.
Also, Jean Silva will fight Bryce Mitchell in Miami at UFC 314.
TKO Takeover in Kansas City
The UFC card is just one part of the weekend in Kansas City for TKO. According to a press release from TKO Holdings:
“The UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, WWE, a global leader in sports entertainment, and PBR (Professional Bull Riders), the world’s premier bull riding organization, will take over the T-Mobile Center for a series of major events from April 24-28.”
PBR will have an event in the arena on Thursday, April 24, followed by UFC Fight Night on Saturday, April 26, and it’ll culminate with WWE’s Monday Night Raw live on Netflix on April 28.
These takeover weekends have been discussed since the TKO merger brought WWE and UFC under the same umbrella, and it could be an exciting mix of sports and entertainment.
I’d expect to see a few cameos from UFC fighters at Raw and vice versa.
