Ronald Humphrey to Debut Against Nikolay Veretennikov at UFC 335

Unbeaten welterweight Ronald Humphrey is set to make his UFC debut against Nikolay Veretennikov at UFC 335, according to a report by MMA Junkie's Nolan King. The bout is planned for December 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The UFC has not announced the pairing yet. Two people with knowledge of the booking passed on the details on condition of anonymity, and no position on the running order or broadcast slot has been reported.

Humphrey arrives at 5-0, with four wins by knockout or technical knockout and one by submission. Veretennikov is 14-8 and has already made six appearances inside the octagon.

The same December event also features Brandon Moreno against Charles Johnson at flyweight.

A contract earned in August

Before the UFC, Humphrey fought in LFA and CFFC. His deal came on Dana White's Contender Series on August 25, when he choked out Alexis Miranda from the back at 4:03 of the opening round. Miranda kept getting back to his feet after being taken down, and Humphrey met each escape with knees and fresh takedowns until an elbow and a knockdown broke the exchange open. One more trip to the canvas followed, and he took the back for the finish.

He is the son of former Strikeforce fighter Ron "Abongo" Humphrey. When the contracts were handed out, White spoke to him directly: "Ronald, you are an animal. An absolute animal!" White also recalled matchmaker Sean Shelby talking about how hard it already was to find opponents for the prospect, then told Shelby: "You're not going to be able to get anyone to fight him, either!"

In August, Humphrey told Laura Sanko he wanted to bring an aggressive, entertaining style to the welterweight division.

Veretennikov's run so far

Veretennikov also went through the Contender Series, dropping a unanimous decision to Michael Morales in September 2021. His promotional debut only came in August 2024 against Danny Barlow, and that one went to the judges as a loss as well.

His two UFC wins are a split decision over Francisco Prado in July 2025 and a 1:42 stoppage of Niko Price in February 2026. Austin Vanderford and Punahele Soriano handed him two more defeats. Most recently, on May 16, Khaos Williams stopped him with strikes at 3:31 of the first round.

Source: MMA Junkie