Tommy McMillen has received the Arizona appearance he requested following his July victory at UFC Oklahoma City. The unbeaten featherweight is set to fight Marwan Rahiki at Noche UFC on Sept. 12 in Glendale, Arizona, in a matchup announced by UFC broadcast partner Paramount+ on social media. McMillen will compete on the promotion’s annual Noche UFC card in his home state after making two UFC appearances earlier this year. The booking places him opposite another undefeated prospect rather than the Mexican opponent McMillen called for after stopping Alberto Montes. Rahiki is described as Moroccan-Australian.
The confirmed matchup brings together two fighters whose UFC starts have featured stoppages. McMillen, 28, enters with an 11-0 record after moving from a Contender Series contract to two finishes in the promotion. Rahiki, 24, is 9-0 and has won both of his UFC bouts by stoppage. Their meeting is part of the Sept. 12 event in Glendale, giving McMillen the home-state slot he publicly sought after the Montes fight. The opponent differs from his request, but the Arizona destination remains the same. McMillen’s recent activity also gives the bout a clear timeline: he earned a contract in September, debuted in April and competed again in July before being announced for Noche UFC.
How McMillen reached the Arizona card
McMillen’s UFC run began with a contract earned on the Contender Series in September. His first promotional fight came at UFC Vegas 115 in April, where he finished Manolo Zecchini in the opening round. He returned at UFC Oklahoma City in July and stopped Alberto Montes, setting up a quick move to the Noche UFC event. Those two UFC appearances both ended before the scorecards were needed. The Montes bout supplied more than a second consecutive UFC stoppage. McMillen landed 252 significant strikes from 517 attempts in that contest.
The total broke the UFC three-round record previously held by Nate Diaz. That record is a confirmed measure of the output McMillen produced in July, while the result itself prompted his call for a place on the Arizona show. His request specified an Arizona fight against a Mexican opponent. The announced Noche UFC pairing answers the location portion of that request, with Glendale hosting McMillen’s next appearance, but Rahiki is the opponent assigned to him. Rahiki is Moroccan-Australian. The Sept. 12 contest therefore follows a compact sequence of established events: a Contender Series contract, a first-round UFC debut finish, the Montes stoppage and an Arizona booking. For readers following the matchup, the recent milestones can be set out without projecting an outcome:
McMillen’s position entering the card is defined by activity, an undefeated record and the striking figure from the Montes fight. He is 11-0, has finished Zecchini and Montes in his first two UFC bouts, and comes into Glendale after establishing the three-round significant-strikes mark with 252 landed on 517 attempts. The Arizona date also has direct personal relevance because it is his home state and because he requested a place on this particular event. Rahiki supplies a separate set of verified credentials. Like McMillen, he has not lost as a professional, holding a 9-0 record.
His UFC introduction included stoppage wins over Harry Hardwick and Ollie Schmid. The Hardwick fight ended in the second round after Rahiki broke his jaw. In his next UFC appearance, Rahiki knocked out Schmid in less than three minutes at UFC Perth. Those results explain why the event features two unbeaten fighters whose UFC records already include finishes. The records do not establish what will happen on Sept. 12, but they clarify the documented context around the announced featherweight fight. McMillen brings two UFC stoppages and a record-setting July striking total. Rahiki arrives with eight knockouts, one submission and a finish in each of his nine victories. Both sets of information are part of the available pre-fight picture for the Glendale card.
Rahiki’s record adds another unbeaten fighter
Rahiki has started his UFC career with two stoppage victories. He stopped Harry Hardwick in the second round after breaking Hardwick’s jaw, then followed with a knockout of Ollie Schmid in less than three minutes at UFC Perth. Across his 9-0 record, Rahiki has eight knockout wins and one submission. The supplied event information lists that as a 100 percent finishing rate. McMillen and Rahiki are both unbeaten, although their documented routes to this fight differ. McMillen is 11-0 and has made two UFC appearances since earning his Contender Series contract.
Rahiki is 9-0 and has recorded two stoppages to open his own UFC tenure. Their fight is one of the announced bouts for Noche UFC in Glendale. The event is headlined by Jean Silva against Yair Rodriguez in a featherweight bout. McMillen versus Rahiki joins that card on Sept. 12, with the site carrying added importance for McMillen because the event takes place in Arizona. His request after the Montes victory was for a home-state Noche UFC opportunity, and the announced bout confirms that he will receive one. The matchup can be summarized through the available facts rather than assumptions. McMillen arrives after a July performance that included a UFC three-round record for significant strikes landed. Rahiki arrives with a perfect finishing record across nine wins. The promotion has paired those unbeaten records at Noche UFC, and the result will add another chapter to two fighters’ early UFC runs.
- September: McMillen earned a UFC contract on the Contender Series.
- April: He finished Manolo Zecchini in the first round at UFC Vegas 115.
- July: He stopped Alberto Montes at UFC Oklahoma City and landed 252 significant strikes on 517 attempts.
- Sept. 12: McMillen is scheduled to face Marwan Rahiki at Noche UFC in Glendale, Arizona.
| Fighter | Record and confirmed UFC context |
|---|---|
| Tommy McMillen | 11-0; first-round finish of Manolo Zecchini, stoppage of Alberto Montes, and 252 significant strikes landed on 517 attempts against Montes. |
| Marwan Rahiki | 9-0; stoppage wins over Harry Hardwick and Ollie Schmid, with eight knockouts and one submission overall. |
McMillen’s next fight is confirmed for Sept. 12 at Noche UFC in Glendale, Arizona, where he faces Rahiki. The booking follows McMillen’s request to compete on the Arizona card after his stoppage of Montes at UFC Oklahoma City. It also comes after a fast opening stretch in the UFC that included a first-round finish of Zecchini and the record-setting Montes performance. Rahiki enters as an unbeaten opponent with two UFC stoppages, eight knockouts and one submission among his nine wins. McMillen remains unbeaten at 11-0, while Rahiki is 9-0. The announced featherweight contest puts those records on the same card as Jean Silva versus Yair Rodriguez and gives readers a documented comparison of each fighter’s recent UFC results before the Glendale event.
Sources: MMA Fighting; MMA Mania
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