Who's fighting on the UFC card tonight, January 13, 2023? - Know your main and prelim card fighters, records, and highlights

The UFC will return to the Apex Center for its next Fight Night card. Brace yourselves for a night of epic battles as we look at the exciting fighters gracing the UFC card tonight.

UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2 (also known as UFC Vegas 84 and UFC Fight Night 234) marks the promotion's first fight card of 2024 and will take place this Saturday, January 13 (U.S. time).

The UFC Fight Night card will be headlined by a thrilling rematch between the No.3-ranked light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev and the No.7-ranked Johnny Walker.

In the night's co-main event, Matheus Nicolau will square off against Manel Kape in a flyweight clash, a rematch of their first fight in 2021.

Watch UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2 fight promo below:

Here's a look at all the primary and preliminary card fighters competing on the UFC card tonight.

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UFC card tonight: UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2 - Main card fighters

Here is a list of all the main card fights for this weekend's UFC Fight Night event:

Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker (light heavyweight)

Matheus Nicolau vs. Manel Kape (flyweight)

Jim Miller vs. Gabriel Benitez (lightweight)

Ricky Simon vs. Mario Bautista (bantamweight)

Phil Hawes vs. Brunno Ferreira (middleweight)

Magomed Ankalaev (17-1-1D-1NC)

Magomed Ankalaev's last two fights were marred with controversies, including a no-contest decision against Johnny Walker in October and a draw with former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in late 2022. Ankalaev was on a nine-fight win streak prior to his last two outings.

Johnny Walker (21-7-1NC)

Johnny Walker went 1-4 through 2019-22 but rattled off three consecutive wins before his latest clash against Ankalaev in Abu Dhabi. The Brazilian will look to break into the divisional top five with a win this Saturday.

Matheus Nicolau (19-3-1D)

Matheus Nicolau edged out a split decision win over Manel Kape back in 2021 and looks to go 2-0 against his rival this weekend. However, the Brazilian was knocked out by Brandon Royval last year, which ended his six-fight win streak.

Manel Kape (19-6)

Manel Kape has strung together four straight wins since ending up on the wrong side of a split decision against Nicolau two years ago. In his latest outing at UFC 293 in September, 'Starboy' outpointed a game Felipe dos Santos.

Jim Miller (36-17-1NC)

Jim Miller will make his 43rd walk to the octagon when he faces Gabriel Benitez on the UFC card tonight. 'A-10' is 4-1 in his last five fights, with all of those wins coming via finish. In his latest outing last June, Miller scored a stunning first-round knockout win over Jesse Butler.

Gabriel Benitez (23-10)

Gabriel Benitez suffered back-to-back stoppage defeats but rebounded with a first-round TKO of Charlie Ontiveros last August. The Mexican is 2-4 in his last six bouts and will hope to continue his winning ways on the UFC card tonight.

Ricky Simon (20-4)

Ricky Simon had a five-fight win streak snapped in a TKO loss to Yadong Song last April. The Washington native will be determined to get back on track when he returns to the octagon this weekend.

Mario Bautista (13-2)

Mario Bautista is riding a five-fight win streak, including three submission finishes. The Arizona native most recently outpointed Da'Mon Blackshear in August.

Phil Hawes (12-5)

Phil Hawes has gone 1-3 in his last four trips to the octagon with all of those defeats coming via first-round K.O. The New Jersey native was obliterated by Ikram Aliskerov last time out in May 2023.

Brunno Ferreira (10-1)

Brunno Ferreira was viciously knocked out by Nursulton Ruziboev last July, tasting his first career defeat. All of the Brazilian's 10 career victories have come via stoppage inside two rounds.

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UFC card tonight: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2 - Preliminary card fighters

Here is a list of all the preliminary card fights for this weekend's Fight Night event:

Andrei Arlovski vs Waldo Cortes-Acosta (heavyweight)

Matthew Semelsberger vs Preston Parsons (welterweight)

Marcus McGhee vs Gaston Bolanos (bantamweight)

Farid Basharat vs Taylor Lapilus (bantamweight)

Westin Wilson vs Jean Silva (featherweight)

Nikolas Motta vs Tom Nolan (lightweight)

Joshua Van vs Felipe Bunes (flyweight)

Andrei Arlovski (34-22-2NC)

Andrei Arlovski is set to make his 27th octagon appearance on the UFC card tonight. 'The Pit Bull' was stopped in his last two fights and will look to get back to his winning ways with his next performance.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta (10-1)

Waldo Cortes-Acosta will aim for a second straight finish when he returns to the octagon for the fifth time. 'Salsa Boy' is fresh off a TKO win over Lukasz Brzeski in August and is 3-1 under the promotional banner.

Matthew Semelsberger (11-6)

Matthew Semelsberger is coming off back-to-back losses with his latest defeat coming at the hands of Uros Medic via TKO at UFC 291. 'Semi the Jedi' is 1-3 in his last four trips to the octagon.

Preston Parsons (10-4)

Preston Parsons dropped a split decision loss to Trevin Giles last time out in March 2023. The Florida native is 2-2 in his last four fights and hopes to get back into the win column with his next performance.

Marcus McGhee (8-1)

Marcus McGhee has finished all of his last four wins with two of those victories coming under the UFC banner. 'The Maniac' most recently knocked out J.P. Buys in August 2023.

Gaston Bolanos (7-3)

Gaston Bolanos will make his sophomore UFC appearance this Saturday eyeing his third straight win. The Californian edged out a decision win over Aaron Phillips in his octagon debut and is 2-2 in his last four fights.

Farid Basharat (11-0)

Farid Basharat will look to extend his extend his record to a perfect 12-0 when he returns to the octagon on the UFC card tonight. The Brit is coming off a first-round submission win over Kleydson Rodrigues and is set to make his third UFC appearance.

Taylor Lapilus (19-3)

Taylor Lapilus is riding a six-fight win streak into this bout and is coming off a unanimous decision win over Caolan Loughran in September. The Frenchman will hope to keep the momentum going when he faces an undefeated opponent on the UFC card tonight.

Westin Wilson (16-8)

Westin Wilson's UFC debut didn't go to plan as she suffered a devastating K.O. at the hands of Joanderson Brito last year. The Utah native had three straight submission finishes prior to his recent defeat.

Jean Silva (11-2)

Jean Silva is set to make his octagon debut on the strength of an eight-fight win streak. All but one of those wins came via stoppage. The Brazilian most recently outpointed Kevin Vallejos at Dana White's Contender Series 2023: Week 5 in September.

Nikolas Motta (13-5-1NC)

Nikolas Motta latest outing against Trey Ogden was ruled a no-contest due to a premature referee stoppage that kept Motta from a second consecutive defeat. The Brazilian is currently 1-2-1 in the UFC.

Tom Nolan (6-0)

Tom Nolan is fresh off an impressive first-round knockout over Bogdan Grad on this season of DWCS. The Aussie will look to make a stunning octagon debut when he faces a fellow DWCS veteran on the UFC card tonight.

Joshua Van (9-1)

Joshua Van picked up his seventh consecutive win by outpointing Kevin Borjas at UFC 295 last November. 'The Fearless' will make his third octagon appearance on the UFC card tonight.

Felipe Bunes (13-6)

Felipe Bunes will be eyeing his third consecutive win against a streaking opponent. The Brazilian is coming off a TKO win over Yuma Horiuchi at LFA 149 and will look to carry that momentum into his UFC debut this weekend.