Caolan Loughran vs. Ramon Tavares set for UFC 304

Caolan “The Don” Loughran (9-1) will make his return to the UFC octagon at UFC 304 in Manchester, sources have confirmed to SevereMMA.

The Team Kaobon bantamweight will take on Ramon Taveras (10-2), in what will be his third visit to the octagon.

Loughran had a disappointing start to his UFC tenure, when he was defeated by Taylor Lapilus on the scorecards after taking the fight on a few days’ notice. The Tyrone man bounced back and picked up his first win under the UFC banner, dominating Angel Pacheco over three rounds to earn a unanimous decision on the scorecards at UFC Atlantic City last March.

Taveres needed two attempts on Dana White’s Contender Series to be awarded a UFC contract, having lost via knockout to Serhiy Siday in September 2023.

The Florida native rebounded just one month later on DWCS after picking up an impressive KO win over Cortavious Romious, a win that secured him a contract with the UFC. Taveres’ first outing inside the octagon gave him a chance for revenge against Serhiy Siday and “The Savage” took home the win via split decision. He will look to continue his winning streak against Ireland’s Loughran in just 10 weeks time.

Both bantamweights will now face off on a stacked UFC 304 card, which will take place in the brand new Co-op Live Arena in Manchester on July 27. The card will be headlined by a welterweight title showdown when Leon Edwards defends his title against number-one contender, Belal Muhammad.

Tom Aspinall will also defend his interim heavyweight title in a rematch against Curtis Blaydes.