The event marked the promotion's 21st visit to Abu Dhabi and first since
UFC 308 in October 2024. A featherweight bout between
Movsar Evloev and promotional newcomer
Aaron Pico was scheduled to take place in a five round co-headliner. They were briefly expected to meet at
UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Morales in May, but it did not come to fruition. In turn, under two weeks prior to this event, Evloev had to withdraw due to an injury and the pairing was scrapped. A women's strawweight bout between
Amanda Ribas and
Tabatha Ricci took place at this event. The bout was originally scheduled for
UFC 318 one week before but was moved to this event for unknown reasons.
Asu Almabayev and Ramazan Temirov were expected to face each other in a flyweight bout on the preliminary card. However, Temirov pulled out due to failing a drug test in early July and was replaced by Jose Ochoa. ==Results==