The UFC-Paramount Era is well underway, as the first quarter wrapped with last week's event in Seattle.

Quarter 2 appears, on paper, to perhaps bring an elevated level of anticipation, with some of the biggest stars in the sport making their first appearances of 2026.

Currently, there are five title fights scheduled across 12 events, including eight UFC Fight Nights and three numbered events.

There's a lot to unpack in the Quarter 2 schedule, but what are the fights fans should avoid missing at all costs?

We ranked all of the main events and title fights for Quarter 2 below based on three criteria: significance, excitement potential, and fan anticipation.

It should be noted the UFC Fight Night event scheduled for June 27 in Baku, Azerbaijan does not have a publicly-announced main event, so it was not included in the list.

13. Gilbert Burns vs. Mike Malott at UFC Fight Night 273

• Date: April 18
• Location: Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Preview: You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better representative of the UFC and MMA than Gilbert Burns. A total class act, fun fighter, and someone who grew up right in front of the UFC audience’s eyes. The losses have piled up recently, though. He enters the UFC Fight Night 273 main event on a four-fight skid. Mike Malott carries himself in a similar way, as the current most prominent Canadian flag-bearer in the UFC. With time, he will likely be viewed in the same light. On a three-fight winning streak, Malott gets a home-country main event. However, it’s perhaps a little surprising that this fight is headlining, given where each fighter is in the division.

12. Belal Muhammad vs. Gabriel Bonfim

• Date: June 6
• Location: META Apex, Las Vegas

Preview: Former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad is a name. He has fans. He has detractors. But there’s no denying he’s a great fighter. There’s also no denying he needs a win to remain in the conversation atop the division. Off back-to-back losses to Jack Della Maddalena and Ian Machado Garry, Muhammad faces Gabriel Bonfim, a fighter who has quietly racked up win after win (with the exception of a loss to Nicolas Dalby in 2023). At the Meta APEX, the event is one week prior to the UFC White House card, where many fans’ attention will be focused. Talent-wise, this fight is top-notch, though stylistically, it may not be the most thrilling – at least on paper.

11. Renato Moicano vs. Chris Duncan

• Date: April 4
• Location: META Apex, Las Vegas

Preview: Similarly to UFC Fight Night 273 in Winnipeg, UFC Fight Night 271’s main event is a little surprising. No one can look at Renato Moicano vs. Chris Duncan and think, “Hey, that’s a bad fight.” It’s a great fight. It has action potential and is extremely important to each man. Moicano wants to prove he’s still an elite lightweight, despite his age and some recent hiccups. Duncan wants to seize the moment and establish himself among the list of top marquee fighters. There’s also a wrinkle of teammate vs. teammate, which is interesting. However, the significance to the division is relatively low. It’s essentially a fight to see which guy belongs somewhere in the rankings. But hey, at least it’ll almost certainly provide some entertainment.

10. Song Yadong vs. Deiveson Figueiredo

• Date: May 30
• Location: Galaxy Arena, Cotai, Macau

Preview: A matchup that the UFC has seemingly wanted forever, yet has been unable to materialize, Song Yadong and Deiveson Figueiredo will finally get their hands on one another, unless the injury bug rears its ugly head again. Both men perhaps have a little less momentum than in years past. Yadong has lost two of three. Figueiredo has lost three of four. But it remains a fun matchup, particularly with it being five rounds and in Yadong’s backyard. The winner is still likely at least a couple fights away from a crack at UFC gold. But perhaps it’s a little more of a proper main event, given the name recognition, the styles, and there being some contendership at stake.

9. Aljamain Sterling vs. Yousseff Zalal at UFC Fight Night 274

• Date: April 25
• Location: META Apex, Las Vegas

Preview: On paper, this could be a grueling watch. But for MMA purists that appreciate technique and strategy over excitement (and there might not be a ton of us relative to the swang-and-bang), this fight is for you. Youssef Zalal, a fighter who was released by the promotion just a few years ago, has stormed back with win after win. Here’s his big shot, fighting one of the division’s most recognizable names and one of the greatest bantamweights of all time. Sterling has breathed new life into his career at featherweight, though he hasn’t perhaps made the splash he’d hoped. He first lost an extremely high-level fight to Movsar Evloev. Then, he beat a heavy Brian Ortega. For Sterling, a fighter who has been around the block, it’s vital if he wants to make another push that he wins this fight. For Zalal, this is the moment he’s always been waiting for. The stakes are there.

8. Arnold Allen vs. Melquizael Costa at UFC Fight Night 276

• Date: May 16
• Location: META Apex, Las Vegas

Preview: Arnold Allen vs. Melquizael Costa is yet another example of a veteran trying to hold his ground, and a rising contender trying to snatch his position. Different than the others, however, is just how red-hot Costa is. MMA Junkie’s 2025 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year, Costa went 4-0 in 2025, after a 2-2 start in the UFC. His current momentum is of rare form. Allen remains underappreciated and underrated, somehow, despite his decade-plus tenure on the UFC roster. Perhaps it’s his streaks of inactivity due to injury. Perhaps it’s that he’s lost three of four. But going beyond the on-paper resume, Allen has continually been a difficult out for top-tier talent in one the promotion’s most competitive decisions. This is a dog fight. Let’s see not who can bark the loudest, but who can bite the hardest.

7. Manel Kape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi at UFC Fight Night 279

• Date: June 20
• Location: META Apex, Las Vegas

Preview: We’re now really turning the corner into the “yes please” echelon of the quarter’s highest-positioned fights. Despite its near dismantlement years ago, the UFC flyweight division has repeatedly proved its worth. It’s not going anywhere, and Manel Kape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi 2 will almost certainly remind us why. The technique and speed will be off the charts. The fact that this fight is five rounds is truly a treat, and it has immediate, perhaps No. 1 contender-esque, implications. Oh, and we didn’t even mention that these two have history. The two RIZIN standouts fought in the promotion’s 2017 World Grand Prix when Horiguchi submitted Kape. This checks so many boxes – an absolutely sick main event.

6. Joshua Van (c) vs. Tatsuro Taira at UFC 327

• Date: April 11
• Location: Kaseya Center, Miami

Preview: Sticking in the UFC’s most exciting division, here’s a fight for all the marbles. Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira will serve as a supporting act at UFC 327, but that’s OK. The flyweight division may not ever get the respect it deserves, unless a true superstar emerges. Van, however, could be that. He’s the most popular flyweight we’ve seen in years and carries Myanmar on his back as the first Burmese fighter in UFC history. He’s young, and his rate of improvement as someone who made his amateur debut in December 2020 is absolutely insane. Taira, meanwhile, stumbled with a barnburner loss to Brandon Royval, but hopped right back on the horse. He’s continually improving, too. These two fighters are pushing the ceiling of what’s conceivable at flyweight. Now they’ll face each other in what could be an absolutely off-the-rails title UFC fight at Kaseya Center.

5. Jiri Prochazka vs. Carlos Ulberg at UFC 327

• Date: April 11
• Location: Kaseya Center, Miami

Preview: One of the UFC’s biggest stars returns against the most exciting fighter in UFC history at the White House. Seeing Ilia Topuria back is a relief of sorts. Step after step, he took up the ladder of stardom. Legal battles led to inactivity, which led to him losing some steam, but it shouldn’t take long for him to get back on track and potentially reach new heights. In order to do that, he’ll have to get through Gaethje, who admits he’s at the tail-end of his career, likely in the last title opportunity he’ll ever get. The oddsmakers list this fight lopsidedly, however. Gaethje has been knocked out several times in his career, with increasing frequency as the years have rolled on. Topuria, meanwhile, has looked invincible. You can never count Justin Gaethje out – never, ever… ever….. ever! But I do think the public perception is heavily supporting a dominant Topuria win, and that’s knocked the hype down a notch.

4. Ilia Topuria (c) vs. Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250

• Date: June 14
• Location: South Lawn of The White House, Washington, D.C.

Preview: This fight could be sloppy. This fight could be wild. In fact, it’ll likely be both of those things. More importantly, it’ll almost certainly be a car crash – a guaranteed, “Well, I can’t look away from the screen for even a single second” sort of fight. There’s something to be said about sure-thing violence, which is what Jiri Prochazka vs. Carlos Ulberg. Hammer the under, because this thing will likely be quick. The anticipation of pure chaos overshadows the division’s title picture blandness, with Alex Pereira vacating the belt after winning it in October, meaning this will be for the vacant strap. It never feels right when a new champion is crowned without beating the previous champion. However, in this moment, the highlight either Prochazka or Ulberg will create should make us forget about that, at least for a few moments.

3. Jack Della Maddalena vs. Carlos Prates at UFC Fight Night 275

• Date: May 2
• Location: RAC Arena, Perth, Australia

Preview: Jack Della Maddalena vs. Carlos Prates isn’t a title fight, but it could very well be the fight on the UFC schedule that diehards are looking forward to the most. It checks a lot of boxes. It’s significant (perhaps a title eliminator, though that might be a slight stretch). It’s exciting – and it’s high-level. While there’s no title on the line, both men are in their primes. Their styles seem like a concoction that would satisfy both hardcores and casuals. Two fun personalities with finishing abilities in the loaded welterweight division. This is what a UFC Fight Night main event should be.

2. Khamzat Chimaev (c) vs. Sean Strickland at UFC 328

• Date: May 9
• Location: Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.

Preview: Right now, this feels like “the fight.” In an MMA landscape that seems dull at times, Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland have already laid the groundwork for a truly nasty rivalry. The trash talk hasn’t fully engaged yet, though I’m sure it’s coming. The methods will almost certainly cross into distasteful, but fans of each fighter will be eager to see the other smashed. But the visuals of either Chimaev dominating Strickland, or Strickland flipping the combat sports world on its head, handing Chimaev his first loss, give this fight the little extra anticipation and aura the others do not have. The matchup itself is somewhat intriguing, though in a similar vein to Topuria vs. Gaethje (but to a lesser degree), the oddsmakers are confident Chimaev will get the job done, which perhaps tunes down the public's perception a few volume levels.

1. Ciryl Gane vs. Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250

• Date: June 14
• Location: South Lawn of The White House, Washington, D.C.

Preview: Don’t let the fact that we’re not getting Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones spoil the fact that we’re getting a truly interesting co-main event at UFC Freedom 250 that could have all-time historic implications. How will Pereira do at heavyweight? It’s a question many, including myself, have been wondering for years since he first verbalized his plans to someday bulk up there. “Poatan” has the ability to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold a title in three weight classes, even if this one is just an interim (for now). Ciryl Gane is a stiff test, though the memories of Jones walking right through him seem to forever live in the minds of many fight fans, despite Gane’s career success and glimpse of brilliance vs. champion Tom Aspinall before an eye poke ended their fight in October. Interim title fights often mean a unification bout up next. But will it be an all-time mega fight between Pereira and Aspinall, or a rematch between Gane and Aspinall after the first ended in controversy? There’s a lot going on. Star power. History. Setting the scene for something potentially even bigger. This has all the fixings.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC schedule: Ranking every Spring 2026 main event and title fight