Omari Akhmedov Takes on Brad Tavares at UFC 264 in July

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Two perennial Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight contenders will lock horns in July.

Middleweight Omari Akhmedov (21-5-1) announced on Instagram that his contract had been signed for his next bout. The Dagestan native, per MMA Fighting, will be taking on Brad Tavares (18-6) at UFC 264. The two will throw hands on July 10, and there is no official venue or location in the books for this top-15 185-pound matchup.

Akhmedov rebounded from his first defeat since 2016, where he dropped a decision to Chris Weidman at UFC Fight Night 174 in August 2020, by tapping out jiu-jitsu standout Tom Breese in the second round. The stoppage win for “Wolverine” was his first finish since 2015, and his first not by injury since 2013. Before tapping Breese, Akhmedov reached the scorecards in each of his last seven bouts, and had fought into Round 3 in all of his last nine outings.

Tavares snapped a two-fight skid in January by taking a decision over Antonio Carlos Jr. Before the victory, the Hawaiian suffered defeats to current champ Israel Adesanya and then-undefeated Edmen Shahbazyan. A member of the UFC roster since 2010, Tavares has quietly placed himself among the middleweight elite by notching 13 wins inside the division. Following his victory over Carlos Jr., the only two 185-pounders with more UFC triumphs were Anderson Silva (14) and Michael Bisping (16) – both champions.

The UFC pay-per-view event titled UFC 264 will go down on July 10, at a currently undisclosed location. Although there is no headliner currently on deck, the promotion is targeting a lightweight trilogy match between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor for the card. Additional bouts scheduled on the event include a significant featherweight matchup between Ryan Hall and Ilia Topuria, while two former flyweight title challengers face off when Jennifer Maia fights Jessica Eye.