UFC Atlantic City New Main Event Features New Jersey Fighter

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has been away from Atlantic City for six years, a city in which the number one Mixed Martial Arts organization has a deep history. But there is finally good news for the upcoming UFC Fight Night that will be hosted at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.

On Saturday, March 30th the UFC will host their tenth MMA Fight Card in Atlantic City. The original announcement by UFC CEO Dana White was that the Main Event would be a showdown of the top ten ranked Welterweight Fighters. The initial plan was for Philadelphia's Sean Brady to fight New Jersey-born Vincente Luque.  But the former CFFC Champion Brady confirmed internet reports that he was no longer fighting at UFC Fight Night Atlantic City due to an injury he is dealing with.

But the UFC is keeping the local flavor on their Boardwalk Hall Fight Card with their announcement that the new Main Event will be the Women's Flyweight Matchup between Number-Two Ranked Erin Blanchfield and Number-Three Ranked Manon Fiorot. Blanchfield is from Elmwood Park, New Jersey, and is on a nine-fight winning streak heading into this fight on March 30th.

Her opponent, Manon Fiorot from France, has not lost a fight since 2018 and is almost ten years older than New Jersey's Blanchfield. The winner of this fight will be next in line to fight for the UFC Flyweight Championship.  The Main Event in Atlantic City is scheduled for five rounds, the same as a UFC Title Fight.

Blanchfield, who trains at Renzo Gracie Academy's Silver Fox BJJ in Northern New Jersey, will not be the only local fight to compete at UFC Fight Night Atlantic City. Vicente Luque, born in Westwood, New Jersey has received a new opponent for March 30th, a matchup with St. Louis' Joaquin Buckley. Both men are known for finishing their fights: 12 of Buckley's 17 MMA wins are by Knockout and Luque has a Submission or Knockout in 19 of his 22 MMA Wins.

Here are some of the other local area fighters scheduled to compete at UFC Fight Night Atlantic City on March 30th at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall:

*Andre Petroski has a 10-2 MMA Record and fighting Jacob Malkoun in a Middleweight matchup. Petroski trains at Renzo Gracie Philly.
*Julio Arce, who trains at Tiger Schulmann's Mixed Martial Arts in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, is scheduled to fight Featherweight Herbert Burns. Arce, who is from Queens, New York, has an 18-6 MMA Record
*Chris Weidman is the former UFC Middleweight Champion and defended his title three times. Weidman, who is from Nassau County, New York, is scheduled to fight Bruno Silva.

The March 30th UFC Fight Night will be the tenth UFC MMA Event hosted in Atlantic City.  The number one MMA Organization held six fight cards in Atlantic City from 2000 to 2005 but as the organization has grown in popularity, they have spent more time in New York City and Newark, New Jersey in the last decade. The last UFC Event in Atlantic City was in 2018 which ended up being one of the last wins of New Jersey Fighter Frankie Edgar's Hall of Fame Career.