UFC Jacksonville 2023: What do we know about the event so far?

Dana White has confirmed that the UFC are planning on returning to Jacksonville, Florida on June 24 whilst he continues to lay out the road map for 2023.

The UFC president highlighted Jacksonville's mayor, Lenny Curry, and stated that he felt he 'owed' him for allowing the organization to host three back-to-back events in the city during the coronavirus pandemic.

Dana White said:

"“This last fight in Jacksonville is a thank you to the mayor down there, who did a lot of good things for us during COVID.”

The main-event for the upcoming card was also confirmed by White. Former interim featherweight title challenger Josh Emmett will take on undefeated Ilia Topuria (13-0) in a highly anticipated clash.

Topuria has been tipped as a future champion and has earned back-to-back performance bonuses in his last two outings. For Emmett, the heavy-hitting veteran is looking to bounce back from his disappointing performance against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 284.

Elsewhere, women's flyweights Amanda Ribas and Maycee Barber are also set to face one another, as will middleweights Sedriques Dumas and Punahele Soriano. The only other confirmed bout so far is with Japanese prospect Tatsuro Taira, who is hoping to extend his winning run when he faces Kleydson Rodrigues.

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Light heavyweight shares a meme about checking the UFC Roster Watch Twitter page

UFC light heavyweight Tanner Boser is anxiously awaiting his future following a disappointing performance in Kansas City last week.

The Canadian MMA fighter has suffered a severe drop in form in the octagon in recent years, losing four of his last five bouts. Boser had hoped a return to the 205lb division would present a change in fortunes, but he fell to a nasty first-round finish at the hands of Ion Cutelaba.

Following his disappointing performance, Tanner Boser took to Twitter to plead with Dana White. 'The Bulldozer' asked that the organization allow him to battle it out in the last fight of his contract in his home country of Canada, where the organization is returning later this year. He wrote:

"I’m very sorry to my coaches, training partners, fans, and country. I let everybody down and I know that. I have one fight left on my contract. If @Mickmaynard2 @danawhite choose not to cut me, I would love for my last fight to be in Vancouver, Canada on June 10th.

With no updates yet on his future, Boser followed up his post with a GIF of a man sweating. The MMA fighter joked that the image was of him whilst anxiously checking the Roster watch Twitter page.