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(This story was updated to add new information.)
The UFC is back in Brazil with a former champion and national sporting idol at the top of the card.
Here's how to watch UFC Fight Night 261, where a short-notice fight headlines in Rio de Janeiro.
Broadcast and streaming info
UFC Fight Night 261 has a main card that streams at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The prelims stream on ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET.
Veteran broadcaster Karyn Bryant serves as desk anchor and host at UFC Fight Night 261. UFC Hall of Famer Rashad Evans and retired welterweight Alan Jouban join her as desk analysts throughout the event and on the post-fight show.
UFC correspondent Heidi Androl will conduct pre- and post-fight interviews backstage with some of the athletes on the UFC Fight Night 261 card, as well as report additional real-time updates for the event.
John Gooden will serve as the leading man on the mic from cageside at UFC Fight Night 261. He'll command play-by-play and be joined in the booth by UFC Hall of Famer and former middleweight champion Michael Bisping. It will be the first two-man booth since February.
(Mike Bohn–MMA Junkie)
Main event: Charles Oliveira
- Record: 35-11 MMA, 23-11 UFC
- Opponent: Mateusz Gamrot (25-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC)
- Division: Lightweight
- Key wins: Michael Chandler (twice), Beneil Dariush, Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Tony Ferguson
- Misc.: Holder of tons of UFC records, Oliveira had to wait a bit after Rafael Fiziev dropped out to get a new opponent to headline in his home country. The former lightweight champion has had a truly up-and-down road of things starting with the day he lost the title – by missing weight for a defense against Gaethje. He won the fight, but had to surrender the belt. His next shot at getting it back was a loss, and he’s been alternating Ws and Ls since then. In June, he was knocked out by Ilia Topuria in a vacant lightweight title fight. Now he’ll be trying to avoid his first losing skid in nine years.
Main event: Mateusz Gamrot
- Record: 25-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC
- Opponent: Charles Oliveira (35-11 MMA, 23-11 UFC)
- Division: Lightweight
- Key wins: Ludovit Klein, Rafael dos Anjos, Rafael Fiziev, Jalin Turner, Arman Tsarukyan, Diego Ferreira
- Misc.: When Rafael Fiziev pulled out with an injury, Gamrot quickly left Europe to return to American Top Team to start preparing for a short-notice fill-in fight against Oliveira. He got it, and now he’ll go after what would be the biggest win of his career. In Late May, he got back in the win column against Klein, giving him four wins in his past five – with the only setback a split decision Fight of the Night loss to Dan Hooker.
Co-main event: Deiveson Figueiredo
- Record: 24-5-1 MMA, 13-5-1 UFC
- Opponent: Montel Jackson (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC)
- Division: Bantamweight
- Key wins: Marlon Vera, Cody Garbrandt, Rob Font, Brandon Moreno, Alex Perez, Joseph Benavidez (twice), Alexandre Pantoja
- Misc.: It had been a fantastic transition from 125 pounds to bantamweight for former flyweight champ Figueiredo with three straight wins after he moved to the division. But a November 2024 decision loss to ex-champ Petr Yan and a TKO loss after a knee injury in May to Cory Sandhagen, who got a title shot off the win, has the Brazilian sitting on the first skid of his career.
Co-main event: Montel Jackson
- Record: 15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC
- Opponent: Deiveson Figueiredo (24-5-1 MMA, 13-5-1 UFC)
- Division: Bantamweight
- Key wins: Daniel Marcos, Da’mon Blackshear, Rani Yahya, Julio Arce
- Misc.: Jackson hasn’t had the kind of activity level that leads to big-time mentions in title contention, but a win over Figueiredo in Brazil would put him there. He has six straight wins and hasn’t lost in more than five years. But this will be the first time in four years that he will have had two fights in a calendar year. He has two bonuses in his current stretch, including one for an 18-second knockout of Blackshear. He followed that up by handing Daniel Marcos the first loss of his career after 17 straight wins.
UFC debut: Bia Mesquita
- Record: 5-0
- Opponent: Irina Alekseeva (5-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC)
- Division: Women’s bantamweight
- Misc.: Widely regarded as the GOAT of women’s jiu-jitsu, the 34-year-old Brazilian transitioned to MMA in a little more than a year ago and in June won LFA’s women’s bantamweight title. That got her quickly signed to the UFC, and now she’ll have her promotional debut in front of her home-country fans. She’s the biggest favorite on the entire card.
UFC Fight Night 261 main card betting odds
- Oliveira +100, Gamrot -130
- Figueiredo +220, Jackson -295
- Alvarez -520, Luque +350
- Diniz +100, Pinto -130
- Ofli +165, Ramos -215
- Almeida +130, Aswell -165
UFC Fight Night 261 prelim betting odds
- Carpenter -120, Filho -105
- Petersen +220, Petrino -295
- Alekseeva +430, Mesquita -670
- Nicoll +100, Rocha -130
- Usman +240, Walker -330
- Kowalkiewicz +300, Polastri -400
- Lacerda -265, Oliveira +200
UFC Fight Night 261 lineup
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
- Charles Oliveira vs. Mateusz Gamrot
- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Montel Jackson
- Joel Alvarez vs. Vicente Luque
- Jhonata Diniz vs. Mario Pinto
- Kaan Ofli vs. Ricardo Ramos
- Lucas Almeida vs. Michael Aswell
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 4 p.m. ET)
- Clayton Carpenter vs. Jafel Filho
- Thomas Petersen vs. Vitor Petrino
- Irina Alekseeva vs. Bia Mesquita
- Stewart Nicoll vs. Lucas Rocha
- Mohammed Usman vs. Valter Walker
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Julia Polastri
- Luan Lacerda vs. Saimon Oliveira
UFC Fight Night 261 preview videos
UFC Fight Night 261 full fight videos
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Rio: How to watch Charles Oliveira vs. Mateusz Gamrot, start time, lineup, odds, more
Reporting by Matt Erickson, MMA Junkie / MMA Junkie
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