Is there a UFC fight on Saturday (November 11, 2023)? Here is everything you should know about the event

This Saturday plays host to UFC 295, the first pay-per-view of November and the penultimate one of the year. But what does the event entail besides taking place at Madison Square Garden on November 11, with the main card starting at 10 P.M. E.T. (Eastern Time) and 7 P.M. PST (Pacific Standard Time)?

The pay-per-view will be headlined by Alex Pereira and Jiří Procházka, both of whom will compete for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title. Their bout was initially scheduled as the co-main event of UFC 295, however, it was recently upgraded to the main event slot.

This was due to Jon Jones having to withdraw from the original headline bout against Stipe Miocic, after tearing a pectoral tendon during a wrestling session. This led to the Alex Pereira vs. Jiří Procházka matchup being promoted to the main event. So what about the co-main event?

Streaking heavyweight knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich, who was brought in as the backup fighter for the original headliner, is now scheduled to take on Tom Aspinall as the co-headliner. Both men will compete for the interim heavyweight championship.

Elsewhere on the card, Mackenzie Dern and Jéssica Andrade will lock horns in a women's strawweight bout with massive career implications for the latter. While Dern recently defeated Angela Hill and is now looking to build that win into a two-fight win streak, 'Bate Estaca' has been finished in her last three fights.

A fourth consecutive loss for Andrade, who is 32 years old, could lead to early retirement talks. Below them, Matt Frevola and Benoît Saint-Denis will face off in a lightweight contest, with both pitting their win streaks on the line. Lastly, the main card opener is a featherweight clash between Diego Lopes and Pat Sabatini.

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Will Jon Jones defend his heavyweight title against the winner of the UFC 295 co-main event?

Whenever an interim champion is crowned, logic dictates that they next face the division's undisputed champion to unify the titles.

However, despite the UFC booking Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall into an interim title fight, there appears to be no indication that the promotion intends for the winner to face Jon Jones.

In fact, Jones himself apologized to Miocic for the injury derailing their matchup, before stating that he will face the former heavyweight champion at a later date. Thus, it seems that the winner of Saturday's co-main event will not fight Jones, despite being the interim champion.