A UFC event is several hours long and arrives in pieces, which can be confusing if you open it at the wrong moment and find a fight you have never heard of. This guide explains the parts of a card, the two types of UFC event, round lengths and weight classes, and how to judge when the main event will actually start.
The three parts of a card
A full UFC event has up to three segments, and they run back to back:
- Early prelims. The first fights of the night, often newer fighters or late additions. Not every event has them.
- Prelims. Usually four or five fights, with some well-known names and prospects near the top.
- Main card. Usually five or six fights, ending with the main event. The co-main event comes just before it.
On the MMA page, the prelims and the main card are listed as separate rows with their own start times. They may also be carried by different channels, so the main card row can have different feeds from the prelims row.
Numbered events and Fight Nights
The UFC runs two kinds of events. Numbered events, such as UFC 332, are the bigger shows and usually carry one or more title fights. Fight Night events take their name from the main event, for example "UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Duncan", and fill most of the remaining weekends. Most events are held on Saturdays, and some weekends have no UFC event at all.
Away from the main roster, Dana White's Contender Series runs on Tuesday nights in late summer and early autumn. Fighters on it compete for UFC contracts, and those shows appear on the same page.
Rounds and how fights end
A standard UFC fight is three rounds of five minutes, with one minute of rest between rounds. Championship fights are five rounds. Every main event is also five rounds, even when no title is on the line, which is why a Fight Night headliner can run as long as a title fight.
A fight can end by knockout, technical knockout (the referee stops it), submission, or disqualification. If it goes the full distance, three judges score each round on a ten-point system, and the fight is decided by unanimous, split or majority decision, or declared a draw.
Weight classes
| Division | Upper limit |
|---|---|
| Flyweight | 125 lb |
| Bantamweight | 135 lb |
| Featherweight | 145 lb |
| Lightweight | 155 lb |
| Welterweight | 170 lb |
| Middleweight | 185 lb |
| Light heavyweight | 205 lb |
| Heavyweight | 265 lb |
Those are the eight men's divisions. Women's divisions start at strawweight, 115 pounds, and also include flyweight and bantamweight. A fight between two weights that do not match a division is called a catchweight bout.
Official weigh-ins are held the day before the event. A fighter who misses weight in a non-title fight usually gives up part of the purse and the fight goes ahead; in a title fight, missing weight means that fighter cannot win the belt. Late injuries and missed weight are the most common reasons a card changes in the last 24 hours.
Timing a night
For an event in the United States, the prelims usually start in the early evening Eastern time and the main card about two to three hours later. UFC Fight Night Allen vs. Duncan on October 10, 2026, for example, was scheduled with prelims at 21:00 UTC and the main card at 00:00 UTC on October 11.
The main event normally starts one and a half to two hours into the main card. That is only a guide. Quick finishes earlier in the night bring the main event forward, and a run of fights that go to decision pushes it back. If you only care about the headliner, open the main card row at its start time and keep the tab open.
Events held in Abu Dhabi, Europe or Asia start much earlier in UTC and can fall in the morning or afternoon for viewers in the Americas. Since the MMA page shows every start time on your own clock, you can see this at a glance instead of working out the offset yourself.
Other promotions on the same page
The MMA page also lists other promotions when they are on, such as the PFL and ONE Championship, along with WWE and AEW wrestling shows. Each is listed under its own heading. If you also follow boxing, the Boxing page works in a similar way, though boxing cards are scheduled very differently, with the broadcast start time listed rather than the ring walks.
