Alik Lorenz gets second Contender Series chance against Mahamed Aly

Alik Lorenz will receive another opportunity on Dana White’s Contender Series when he faces Mahamed Aly. The light-heavyweight bout gives Lorenz a chance to recover from the 30-second stoppage that ended his first appearance on the show.

Lorenz entered that earlier fight as a four-bout LFA veteran. He had stopped all but one of his opponents in the opening round and had only one defeat in his professional MMA record, a loss to Darion Abbey in Abbey’s second fight. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev stopped Lorenz with punches and a knee, then earned a UFC contract.

Yakhyaev’s progress has added significance to Lorenz’s defeat. The Russian fighter, who is 9-0 in MMA, made his UFC debut in November 2025 and submitted Raffael Cerqueira with a rear-naked choke in just over 30 seconds. He later submitted Brendson Ribeiro in April before stopping Julius Walker after eight seconds in late June. That latest win brought him a performance bonus.

Yakhyaev is now scheduled to meet Nikita Krylov at UFC 333. Krylov has a 12-10 record in the UFC and most recently lost to former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. The level Yakhyaev has reached since stopping Lorenz has strengthened the case for Lorenz to be considered again.

Lorenz has fought once since his Contender Series defeat. In March, he faced Gabriel Thimoteo at LFA 228 and finished him in less than 30 seconds with a right hand followed by ground-and-pound. Thimoteo entered that bout with a 5-6 record and has also lost to Tuco Tokkos, who is 1-3 in the UFC.

Aly also comes into the matchup seeking to use a second opportunity. Both fighters are being given another route to a Contender Series contract after losses to opponents viewed as capable of competing at a high level. The bout also takes place in a light-heavyweight division described as one of the UFC’s shallowest.