Fighters To Watch Out For At UFC Qatar This Weekend

With a total of 13 fights across eight weight divisions, there are several fighters worth watching out for this weekend at UFC Qatar.

Join us as we outline five key fighters to keep an eye out for at UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs Hooker this weekend from Al Rayyan, Qatar.

Fighters To Watch At UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs Hooker

UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs Hooker is here as Dana White brings this weekend’s show to Qatar for the very first time.

Saturday night marks the third UFC visit to the Middle East in the promotion’s history, having previously staged events in both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The UFC Qatar main event sees the #1 ranked lightweight Arman Tsarukyan take on the #6 ranked 155-pound fighter Dan Hooker in what is a compelling contest. This is a fight Tsarukyan is expected to win, but Hooker is on a three-fight win streak of his own.

There are also several other intriguing battles on both the main card and prelims, with several ranked fighters in action across multiple weight divisions.

Tsarukyan is the only fighter inside the top 25 most followed UFC fighters in action this weekend in Qatar, with a host of top prospects and future title contenders also on the card.

With that in mind, here at SportsCasting we have outlined five fighters to watch this weekend featuring on the UFC Qatar show on Saturday, November 22.

This includes one of the main event combatants, a leading welterweight contender, two UFC debutants and one other popular fighter who is campaigning in a new weight class for the very first time.

So without further ado, here are five fighters to keep an eye on this weekend at UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs Hooker at the Ali Bin Hamed al-Attiyah Arena.

UFC Fighters To Watch This Weekend At UFC Qatar

Arman Tsarukyan

The first fighter to watch out for this weekend at UFC Qatar is most definitely Arman Tsarukyan.

The Armenian MMA phenom has had over 18 months out of the octagon now since his UFC 300 victory over former champion Charles Oliveira, and returns to the cage with a point to prove.

Tsarukyan remains the #1 contender at lightweight, with a win here over the tough Dan Hooker all but guaranteeing him a shot at Ilia Topurias and the UFC Lightweight Title. Especially now that Topuria vs Paddy Pimblett is in doubt.

The 29-year-old was supposed to fight Islam Makhachev for the 155-pound belt back in January at UFC 311, but was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a freak back injury just days before his maiden title fight.

Tsarukyan firmly has a point to prove, and will be desperate to steal the show at UFC Qatar on Saturday night. Hence why he is a fighter to keep an eye on this weekend in the world of MMA.

Ian Machado Garry

Next up as one of the fighters to watch this weekend is Irish MMA superstar Ian Machado Garry.

Garry is currently ranked at #6 in the welterweight division, and has the chance to leap to #2 with a victory over former champion Belal Muhammad at UFC Qatar this weekend.

The Irishman boasts a 9-1 record in the UFC, with his only defeat coming to the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov. Garry knows that a dominant display over Muhammad, who is fighting for the first time since losing the UFC Welterweight Title, could earn him the next shot at Islam Makhachev.

The 28-year-old oozes confidence outside of the octagon, and backs it up inside the cage too. He believes his destiny is to become world champion, and he isn’t too far away from realising that dream.

Be sure to tune in and watch Ian Machado Garry at UFC Qatar this weekend in his co-main event bout against Belal Muhammad in the 170-pound division.

Luke Riley

Non-British MMA fans will not be familiar with this man and may well be asking – who is Luke Riley?

Well, the undefeated Liverpudlian is set to make his UFC debut this weekend after signing to Dana White’s promotion back in August. Riley is currently 11-0 in his MMA career, which includes eight big wins via knockout.

The 26-year-old trains out of Next Generation MMA gym in Liverpool alongside Paddy Pimblett, who is in Qatar to support his gym-mate this weekend.

Although Riley is the talk of Liverpool this particular weekend, Pimblett is the Merseyside star as Ilia Topuria vs Paddy Pimblett is confirmed for UFC 324 in January. However, ‘The Baddy’ is fully focused on helping his gym-mate and friend make a strong impression on his UFC debut this weekend first.

Riley believes he has what it takes to go all the way in the UFC. The featherweight contender is most definitely worth watching this weekend at UFC Qatar.

Jack Hermansson

The fourth fighter worth watching this weekend at UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs Hooker is former middleweight contender Jack Hermansson.

‘The Joker’ was previously ranked as high as #3 in the middleweight division a few years ago, but has been unable to string two wins together in succession since 2019.

Now though, the Swedish MMA star is moving down a weight class to compete in the welterweight division. The 37-year-old is a career 185-pound fighter, but feels a move down to 170-pounds could bring the best out of him for the remainder of his career.

For this reason alone, Jack Hermansson is worth watching this weekend in the world of UFC.

Marek Bujlo

Last but by no means least is Marek Bujlo. The Polish fighter is a fearsome heavyweight who is set to make his UFC debut this weekend at UFC Qatar.

Bujlo is currently 6-0 in his MMA career, which includes three wins via knockout and three via submission. The 32-year-old seems like he wants to fast-track his way into the heavyweight rankings, and a big win this weekend on his UFC debut could well do just that.

Should Bujlo get his hands on one of the UFC bonuses on offer this weekend, he could well launch straight into the top 15 rankings at heavyweight. ‘Bujdzilla’ has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, so most definitely has the pedigree to go far in the UFC.

For these reasons, Marek Bujlo is the last of the five UFC fighters to watch this weekend at UFC Qatar on Saturday night.

UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs Hooker Full Card

Fight	Weight Class	Rounds
Main Card (TNT Sports 1)
Arman Tsarukyan vs Dan Hooker	Lightweight	5
Belal Muhammad vs Ian Machado Garry	Welterweight	3
Volkan Oezdemir vs Alonzo Menifield	Light-Heavyweight	3
Jack Hermansson vs Myktybek Orolbai	Welterweight	3
Tagir Ulanbekov vs Kyoji Horiguchi	Flyweight	3
Preliminary Card (TNT Sports 1/Discovery+)
Bogdan Grad vs Luke Riley	Featherweight	3
Nicolas Dalby vs Saygid Izagakhmaev	Welterweight	3
Alex Perez vs Asu Almabayev	Flyweight	3
Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev vs Rafael Cerqueira	Light-Heavyweight	3
Bekzat Almakhan vs Aleksandre Topuria	Bantamweight	3
Ismail Naurdiev vs Ryan Loder	Middleweight	3
Nurullo Aliev vs Shem Rock	Lightweight	3
Marek Bujło vs Denzel Freeman	Heavyweight	3