The Octagon heads north to the state of Washington as Super Bowl champion city of Seattle plays host to a UFC Fight Night event that features a pair of former world champions.

Ahead of fight night, we take a look at the fight card and pick out three key questions that we’ll get answers to as the action unfolds at Climate Pledge Arena.

Does Israel Adesanya have one more title run in him?

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has been one of the biggest stars in the sport over the past few years, but he finds himself without a belt, and needing a big win to push himself back into championship contention.

“The Last Stylebender” returns to action in Saturday night’s main event, where he’ll take on hard-hitting Joe Pyfer in a matchup that looks like a real crossroads fight for the Nigerian-born Kiwi fighter.

Pyfer has a solid submission game, but prefers to stand and bang, and his punch power must be respected. But, in pure striking terms, Adesanya should be on another level – if his speed and sharpness are on point.

But Adesanya is now 36 years of age, hasn’t fought since February last year, and is currently on a three-fight skid that includes losses to Sean Strickland (on points), Dricus du Plessis (by submission) and Nassourdine Imavov (via TKO). Now he’ll bid to claim his first win in almost three years when he faces off with Pyfer on Saturday night.

A vintage Adesanya performance could help him right the ship and point him back towards the division’s top contenders. Defeat would be unthinkable, and would leave one of the pound-for-pound greats of the last few years on a four-fight losing streak.

There’s a lot at stake for Izzy on Saturday night. Can he deliver another big main event performance to bounce back to winning ways?

Can Maycee Barber jump up to championship level?

From the moment she burst into the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series, Maycee Barber has had her sights set on the top of the sport.

Her quest to become the youngest-ever UFC champion fell by the wayside as she made her way up the flyweight ladder at a steady, if not speedy, pace. But along the way, she’s developed significantly as a fighter, and now feels like the time is perfect for her to announce herself as a serious threat to the 125-pound title currently held by Valentina Shevchenko.

Victory in her co-main event rematch with former champion Alexa Grasso on Saturday night should put Barber right in the mix for a title shot, but she’ll have to exorcise some demons to get there.

Barber’s last defeat came against Grasso at UFC 258 in 2021, when she was defeated on the scorecards. Since then, Grasso went on to dethrone Shevchenko for the title, only to subsequently lose the belt in their rematch.

Barber may have lost that fight five years ago, but she’s improved significantly as a fighter since then. If she can get past her former nemesis this weekend, a championship opportunity might be just around the corner…

Is Mansour Abdul-Malik the next new middleweight threat?

The middleweight main card bout between Mansour Abdul-Malik and Yousri Belgaroui might not leap off the page in terms of household name value. But this fight could potentially produce a middleweight contender of the future.

Abdul-Malik has looked excellent since earning his UFC roster spot on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024. Four fights, three wins and one draw (a technicality due to a different rule regarding scoring incomplete rounds in Georgia that overturned a win to a draw) have seen him showcase his skills as one to watch in the UFC’s 185-pound division.

Now he’s set to face a dangerous newcomer to the weight class. Tunisian striker Yousri Belgaroui made his name in the world of kickboxing, where he challenged for the Glory middleweight title on three separate occasions before switching sports and transitioning to MMA.

Learning his new trade in live competition, Belgaroui got two bites of the Contender Series cherry, losing a decision to Marco Tulio first time around, but bouncing back after capturing the LFL light heavyweight title in the Netherlands. His second shot saw him finish Taiga Iwasakiti, and while he didn’t immediately earn a UFC contract, he was given a shot in the UFC against Azamat Bekoev, and finished his man with strikes in the third round.

Now Belgaroui will test Abdul-Malik’s credentials as both men look to move towards the division’s ranked fighters, but which man will emerge as the more likely prospect to become a contender?