UFC Fight Announcements Roundup for Week of September 13

The UFC announced earlier this month it would add another fight card before UFC 194 in December. This week the company not only booked that card's main event but the entire fight card.

No. 6-ranked strawweight contender Paige VanZant meets No. 8-ranked Joanne Calderwood in the evening's main event on Dec. 10. What other bouts have the UFC booked for the event? We recap the fights made this past week right here.

UFC Fight Night 76, October 24

• Darren Elkins vs. Robert Whiteford

Elkins has been out of action since last December, but he returns in Dublin to take on Robert Whiteford. Elkins has exchanged wins and losses in his last six bouts and is coming off a decision loss to Hacran Dias. Whiteford has won back-to-back fights inside the Octagon over Daniel Pineda and Paul Redmond.

Elkins is ranked as the No. 14 contender in the featherweight division.

UFC Fight Night 77, November 7

• Jimmie Rivera vs. Pedro Munhoz
• Chas Skelly vs. Kevin Souza
• Clay Guida vs. Thiago Tavares

The UFC announced the addition of one bout each to UFC Fight Night 77 and 78 Thursday morning. The added bout at UFC Fight Night 77 features hot prospect Jimmie Rivera. He has won 16 straight and is coming off a KO win over Marcus Brimage. He meets Pedro Munhoz, who has won two in a row over Matt Hobar and Jerrod Sanders.

Friday saw the addition of Chas Skelly vs. Kevin Souza to the card. Souza has won 10 straight and is 3-0 in the UFC. Skelly has reeled off three consecutive victories in the Octagon. This should be a featherweight tilt worth watching.

Also added to the card on Friday, Clay Guida and Thiago Tavares will meet at 145-pounds. The two UFC vets are attempting to move up the ranks in a crowded division. Tavares is 1-1 at featherweight, and Guida is 3-2 while alternating wins and losses since moving down to the division.

UFC Fight Night 78, November 21

• Gabriel Benitez vs. Andre Fili

The other bout added on Thursday is between the talented Andre Fili and Gabriel Benitez. Fili entered the UFC with considerable hype but has had a rocky go inside the cage. Benitez is a winner of four straight with a 2-0 record under the UFC banner.

UFC Fight Night 80, December 10

• Paige VanZant vs. Joanne Calderwood
• Michael Chiesa vs. Jim Miller
• Sheldon Westcott vs. Edgar Garcia
• Danny Roberts vs. Michael Graves
• Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Andreas Stahl
• John Howard vs. Tim Means
• Lyman Good vs. Omari Akhmedov
• Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Kevin Casey
• Thiago Santos vs. Elias Theodorou
• Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Phillipe Nover
• Kailin Curran vs. Emily Kagan

The main event of VanZant vs. Calderwood got most of the press, but in a rare move, the UFC released the entire fight card alongside the main event announcement.

VanZant vs. Calderwood is a matchup of two strawweights who are looking to get into the title race. The stylistic matchup will force each fighter to tighten up her weaknesses. VanZant's pace and pressure grappling style contrasts with Calderwood's calculated striking.

Lightweight grapplers Jim Miller and Michael Chiesa meet in an entertaining co-main event. And John Howard and Tim Means should spark some excitement in their encounter as well. Overall, the 11-fight event should provide plenty of excitement to kick off the UFC's three-event blitz.

The Fight Pass event features a strong lineup of notable names and well-matched fights.

UFC 195, January 2

• Erik Koch vs. Drew Dober

2016 will kick off with the welterweight title tilt between Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit, but the undercard addition of Erik Koch and Drew Dober fits in nicely to the card.

Koch recently moved to lightweight after being a featherweight contender in WEC but faltering in his UFC appearances. His UFC lightweight debut was a thrilling TKO over Rafaello Oliveira. Dober is 1-3 with one no-contest in his UFC career, but he has been competitive throughout. This tussle at 155 pounds should help get the card rolling come January.