On October 3, the UFC goes to Salt Lake City, Utah. In the bantamweight division, Marcus McGhee faces Benardo Sopaj at UFC 332 in the Delta Center. McGhee has to defend his ranking against the up-and-coming Albanian fighter.
Multiple sources have confirmed the booking to Heavy.com after an initial report from Connected MMA. The UFC also officially announced the fight during the UFC Paris broadcast. McGhee currently holds the No. 15 spot in the UFC media rankings and sits at number ten in the meta rankings. The unranked Sopaj now has an opportunity to break into the rankings.
Underrated Fan Favorite
Marcus McGhee is a 36-year-old fighter who got signed to the UFC in 2023. Before becoming a professional fighter, McGhee fought for almost six years as an amateur. In 2020, he fought his first professional fight. After going 6-1 in his first three years as a professional and winning one of his two fights for the LFA promotion, McGhee got the call from the UFC. He made his short-notice debut against Journey Newson. McGhee impressed with a rear-naked choke finish in the second round, earning him the “Performance of the Night” bonus. In his next two fights, the American fighter proved to the UFC that his debut win wasn’t just beginner’s luck.
He finished both JP Buys and Gastón Bolaños via knockout, earning him two new bonuses. With three wins and three bonuses in his first three fights, McGhee got a step up in competition to take on the ranked Jonathan Martinez. In a very competitive fight, McGhee won via unanimous decision. Last year, McGhee got a massive step up in competition when he was matched up with then-former and now current champion Petr Yan. The American fighter lost for the first time in his UFC career, dropping a unanimous decision against the Russian fighter. In his most recent fight in June, McGhee beat John Yannis. Now he has to defend his spot in the rankings against Benardo Sopaj.
An Amazing Talent At Bantamweight
Sopaj is only 25 years old and one of the biggest talents in the UFC bantamweight division. The Albanian fighter who lives and trains in Sweden started his professional career in 2016. In his first three years as a professional, Sopaj won six of his seven fights, also winning a regional title. He signed in 2020 with Brave CF. After beating Tariq Ismail in his debut for the promotion, he dropped a split decision against Francesco Nuzzi. Sopaj then went on to win multiple titles in different promotions with spectacular finishes. With three finishes in a row, Sopaj was signed by the UFC to take on Vinicius Oliveira on short notice.
For that fight, Sopaj had to go up in weight class. Sopaj showed a strong performance but was knocked out by a highlight-reel flying knee in the third round. The Albanian fighter received the bonus for “Fight of the Night”. At the beginning of last year, he returned for his sophomore fight in the UFC against TUF winner Ricky Turcios. Sopaj won via unanimous decision and took his first victory in the promotion. Earlier this year, he beat Timmy Cuamba by rear-naked choke in the second round. Now, with back-to-back wins, he gets the opportunity to fight himself in the rankings against Marcus McGhee.
UFC 332 – Salt Lake City (October 3)
Main Card
- Natália Silva vs. Wang Cong
- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Payton Talbott
- King Green vs. Esteban Ribovics
- Khaos Williams vs. Roberto Soldić
- Ateba Gautier vs. Roman Kopylov
Preliminary Card
- Imanol Rodríguez vs. Alden Coria
- Damian Pinas vs. Andrey Pulyaev
- Marcus McGhee vs. Benardo Sopaj
- Anthony Wint vs. TBA
Early Preliminary Card
- Johnny Walker vs. Mick Parkin
- Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Alexander Hernandez
- Marvin Vettori vs. Ismail Naurdiev
- Court McGee vs. Eric Nolan
Intriguing Bantamweight Fight Added to UFC 332 in Salt Lake City