Undefeated Dana White Contender Series favorite Baisangur Susurkaev is expected to return to action at UFC 328 when he faces Djorden Santos on May 9 at the event currently planned for Newark, N.J. at the Prudential Center.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Thursday following an initial report from Leo Guimaraes on Twitter.
Susurkaev immediately became a fan favorite after he scored a brutal body shot knockout on The Contender series to earn
his contract with the UFC and then he turned around and fought again four days later at UFC 319 in August. On that night, Susurkaev dispatched Eric Nolan with a second round rear-naked choke submission.
Following that win, Susurkaev returned to knock out Eric McConico at UFC 322 this past November to move his UFC record to 2-0 and his overall record to 11-0.
He now clashes with Santos, who enters the bout with a 1-1 record in the UFC after he also made his way to the promotion by way of The Contender Series.
After dropping his debut in a decision to Ozzy Diaz back in March 2025, Santos bounced back with a win over Danny Barlow. He’ll now look to pull off an upset when he faces the highly touted Susurkaev when they meet in May.
As of now, the UFC hasn’t officially announced UFC 328 in May, although several fights have already been confirmed for the card. A main event is also still pending with rumors swirling that the card could potentially mark the return of UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev.
Guilherme Cruz contributed to this report
