“Joker” is changing divisions.
Former Top 10-ranked Middleweight contender Jack Hermansson is officially moving down to Welterweight to take on hot prospect Myktybek Orolbai (who is also changing divisions)
at UFC Qatar on Sat., Nov. 22, 2025, inside Ali Bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena in Al Rayyan, Qatar. Twitter user Kevin K was the first to report the matchup.
After 33 professional bouts at 185 pounds — including 18 inside the Octagon — Hermansson (24-9) will now make the cut to 170 pounds in hopes of reigniting his UFC career. The 37-year-old has alternated wins and losses since 2019, picking up victories over Joe Pyfer, Kelvin Gastelum (watch highlights), Chris Curtis, and Edmen Shahbazyan.
Most recently, “Joker” was brutally knocked out by Gregory Rodrigues at UFC 317 (watch highlights), a setback that may have sparked the move down in weight.
Orolbai (14-2-1) will also be fighting in a new division. While the 27-year-old has never officially missed weight, he forced his last two opponents into catchweight bouts, which likely made UFC’s decision easier. Despite the struggles, the Kyrgyz fighter has already gone 3-1 inside the promotion with two finishes (highlights) and a Fight of the Year contender to his name.
There is no main event for UFC Qatar scheduled at the moment, but here are some of the other fighters currently booked.
- Jack Hermansson vs. Myktybek Orolbai
- Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
- Aleksandre Topuria vs. Bekzat Almakhan
- Shamil Gaziev vs. Serghei Spivac
- Asu Almabayev vs. Alex Perez
- Rafael Cerqueira vs. Abdulrakhman Yakhyaev
- Felipe Lima vs. Daniel Marcos
- Ryan Loder vs. Ismail Naurdiev
- Marek Bujlo vs. Jose Luiz
To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.
