UFC Saudi Arabia Undercard Fights Announced: Featuring Kelvin Gastelum, Johnny Walker, Shara 'Bullet' Magomedov

Gastelum, Walker, Shara 'Bullet' Target Standout UFC Wins In Saudi Arabia

In addition to the two headlining contests, White revealed a number of undercard fights featuring a former title challenger, a ranked contender, and a promising prospect.

Set to compete on June 22 is Kelvin Gastelum (17-9, 1 NC), a former TUF winner and interim title challenger at 185 pounds. After coming close to the temporary gold in a barnburner against Israel Adesanya in 2019, the 32-year-old endured a difficult time, losing four of his next five outings.

Despite a victory over Chris Curtis in his comeback at UFC 287 in April 2023, Gastelum committed to a much-discussed return to the welterweight division. Having been unsuccessful in his first dip back into the 170-pound waters against Sean Brady in Austin last December, the Californian will hope to bounce back against unranked competition in Daniel Rodriguez (17-4) on June 22.

Also slated to make the walk in Saudi Arabia is the entertaining Johnny Walker (21-8, 1 NC). After consecutive losses to Thiago Santos and Jamahal Hill, the Brazilian broke back into contention with three straight wins over Ion Cuțelaba, Paul Craig, and Anthony Smith.

But Walker most recently endured a difficult two-fight saga with Magomed Ankalaev. When an illegal knee from the Russian resulted in a no contest after the cageside doctor deemed Walker unable to continue at UFC 294 last October, the pair were quickly rebooked to headline the opening UFC event of 2024.

The #7-ranked contender was brutally knocked out by Ankalaev, with the Russian's blows leaving Walker with a broken nose. He'll hope to bounce back from that result against longtime contender and former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir (19-7) in Saudi Arabia.

Rounding out White's announcements for this summer's event in Riyadh was confirmation of Sharabutdin Magomedov's (12-0) second appearance inside the UFC Octagon.

The 29-year-old Dagestani debuted on MMA's biggest stage at UFC 294 last October, where he narrowly got the better of Bruno Silva across three rounds to extend his undefeated record. 

If "Bullet" is to continue his rise toward the middleweight rankings, he must get past five-fight UFC veteran Ihor "Duelist" Potieria (20-5) inside the Kingdom Arena.