Most Valuable Promotions’ inaugural MMA card is set, and it isn’t short on recognizable names from the UFC, Bellator, ONE Championship, KSW, and more.
The May 16 card at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., streams on Netflix and will be headlined by the return of women’s MMA pioneers Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano squaring off. Notable names such as Francis Ngannou, Nate Diaz and Mike Perry also will compete, and now the undercard has been rounded out with eight more bouts, promotion officials announced Tuesday.
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Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos (23-10) will make his return when he takes on Cuba’s Robelis Despaigne (5-2). Dos Santos hasn’t competed since finishing Alan Belcher at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 7 in March 2024. Meanwhile, Despaigne found success with Karate Combate after back-to-back losses ended his UFC tenure in 2024. He knocked out Sam Alvey this past December to capture the Karate Combat heavyweight title.
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Former UFC contender Muhammad Mokaev will take on former ONE champion Adriano Moraes (21-6) in a flyweight bout. Mokaev was not re-signed by the UFC despite being unbeaten and on the cusp of title contention after defeating Manel Kape in July 2024. He’s picked up three wins since then, most recently claiming the inaugural BRAVE CF flyweight title with a knockout of Gerard Burns.
Brazil’s Moraes parted ways with ONE Championship after almost 12 years with the promotion. He is coming off a TKO loss to Yuya Wakamatsu for the vacant ONE flyweight title last March. He is one of four fighters to ever defeat Demetrious Johnson.
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Below is the complete Rousey vs. Carano card includes:
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Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano
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Francis Ngannou vs. Philipe Lins
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Jason Jackson vs. Lorenz Larkin
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Junior Dos Santos vs. Robelis Despaigne
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Muhammad Mokaev vs. Adriano Moraes
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Kenneth Cross vs. Salahdine Parnasse
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Jade Masson-Wong vs. Alice Pereira
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Jake Babian vs. Namo Fazil
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David Mgoyan vs. Albert Morales
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Chris Avila vs. opponent TBA
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Junior Dos Santos, Muhammad Mokaev added to Rousey vs. Carano card
