UFC president Dana White went on a fight announcement spree Thursday night, making official several big upcoming bouts including a pair of pay-per-view co-main events.
Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad will meet in a short-notice welterweight contender bout that will act as the co-headliner of UFC 288 on May 6 in Newark, New Jersey, White said on UFC social media channels. The contest will be contracted for five rounds. The winner will put himself in a strong position to challenge next for the UFC welterweight title.
The original UFC 288 co-main event was going to be former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira taking on Beneil Dariush. That fight was postponed due to a minor Oliveira injury. It will now take place at UFC 289 on June 10 in Vancouver. The Oliveira vs. Dariush winner will also put himself on the inside track for a title shot, in this case in the lightweight division.
ESPN has Burns ranked No. 4 and Muhammad at No. 5 in the world at welterweight. Oliveira is ranked No. 2 and Dariush No. 3 in the world at lightweight.
Burns (22-5) just fought earlier this month, beating Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision at UFC 287 on April 8 in Miami. Muhammad (22-3, 1 NC) is unbeaten in nine straight fights.
Oliveira (33-9, 1 NC) had an 11-fight winning streak snapped in a lightweight title fight loss to Islam Makhachev last October at UFC 280. Dariush (22-4-1) has won eight fights in a row.
White also announced four other upcoming UFC Fight Night main events. Jack Hermansson will face Brendan Allen in a middleweight bout June 3, Marvin Vettori takes on Jared Cannonier in a middleweight contender bout June 17, Josh Emmett meets rising prospect Ilia Topuria in a battle of featherweight sluggers June 24 and Sean Strickland clashes with Abus Magomedov on July 1 in another middleweight battle.