UFC will wrap up a seven-week run of events on Saturday night, presenting a short 11-bout “Fight Night” from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. In the main event, former UFC Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm will look to stop the momentum of rising contender Ketlen Vieira.
Here’s a full preview of the card.
Click here to skip to a preview of the main card.
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EDT / 1:00PM PDT) (ESPN+ / TSN 2)
Bout 1: Elise Reed (5-1) vs. Sam Hughes (6-4) (Strawweight)
Both coming off their first UFC wins, Elise Reed and Sam Hughes will meet in the first bout of Saturday’s card.
Hughes snapped a three-fight losing streak in April, taking a majority decision over Istela Nunes. The former LFA Strawweight Champion’s previous losses came from when she joined the roster in late 2020 and two appearances in 2021.
Reed bounced back from her sole pro loss in March, pulling off a close split decision victory against Cory McKenna.
Bout 2: Chase Hooper (10-2-1) vs. Felipe Colares (10-3) (Featherweight)
Featherweights Chase Hooper and Felipe Colares will compete in the next bout.
Colares has flipped between wins and losses throughout his five-fight UFC run. He took a defeat most recently, dropping a split decision to Chris Gutierrez in October 2021.
Hooper has an even record of two wins and two losses in the UFC. His last fight was a unanimous decision loss to Steven Peterson.
Bout 3: Jonathan Martinez (15-4) vs. Vince Morales (11-5) (Bantamweight)
Bantamweight winning streaks will be put on the line in the third bout, as Jonathan Martinez and Vince Morales will face off.
Martinez has succeeded in his past couple of appearances. In October 2021, he went the distance against former LFA Bantamweight Champion Zviad Lazishvili for a win. More recently he beat Alejandro Perez on scorecards in February.
Morales is also on a two-fight winning streak. He scored a quick finish win in his last appearance, stopping Louis Smolka in the first round of a bout late last year due to punches.
Bout 4: Omar Morales (11-2) vs. Uros Medic (7-1) (Lightweight)
Uros Medic will attempt to bounce back from his sole pro loss when he faces Omar Morales on Saturday night.
Medic’s first defeat came in September 2021, when Jalin Turner pulled off a first-round rear naked choke win against him. Before then he had seven wins as a pro, including a stoppage victory in the UFC.
Morales is looking to return after losing a bout to Jonathan Pearce last year, getting stopped by a rear naked choke.
Bout 5: Parker Porter (13-6) vs. Jailton Almeida (15-2) (Heavyweight)
After winning his UFC debut at light heavyweight, Jailton Almeida will move up to heavyweight to face Parker Porter.
Almeida is a rising prospect that was scouted on the last season of “Dana White’s Contender Series.” He had a strong UFC debut in February, stopping Danilo Marques in the first round with strikes.
Porter is on somewhat of a roll at heavyweight, having won a trio of fights in recent years. He last fought in February, when he got a decision nod over Alan Baudot.
Almeida came in at 224 pounds for Saturday’s event. He’ll be significantly lighter than Porter, who was near the heavyweight limit of 265 pounds for the fight.
Bout 6: Joseph Holmes (7-2) vs. Alen Amedovski (8-2) (Middleweight)
The prelims will wrap up with a middleweight fight between Joseph Holmes and Alen Amedovski. Both middleweights are still searching for their first UFC win.
Holmes lost his UFC debut in January, coming in on short notice to face Jamie Pickett. While he went to scorecards in that fight, Holmes was on the losing end of a unanimous decision.
Amedovski took both of his previous UFC defeats in 2019. The Bellator alum was booked on two occasions last year, although those bouts ended up not happening.
Main Card (7:00PM EDT / 4:00PM PDT) (ESPN+ / TSN 2)
Bout 7: Eryk Anders (14-6) vs. Park Jun-yong (13-5) (Middleweight)
Middleweights Eryk Anders and Park Jun-yong will kick off Saturday’s main card.
Park had a strong three-fight winning streak put to an end in his last appearance. His last fight saw him get finished by former LFA Middleweight Champion Gregory Rodrigues, who stopped him to end a back-and-forth second round.
Anders is also looking to rebound on Saturday night. His last fight came at UFC 269 last year when rising name Andre Muniz caught him with an armbar early.
Bout 8: Polyana Viana (12-4) vs. Tabatha Ricci (6-1) (Strawweight)
Polyana Viana will return on Saturday night against rising prospect Tabatha Ricci.
Viana has been out of the UFC cage for more than a year. She scored her second consecutive victory in her last appearance, submitting Mallory Martin in February 2021.
Ricci returned from her first pro loss to defeat Maria Oliveira via decision last year. She’ll be looking for her second UFC win this weekend.
Bout 9: Chidi Njokuani (21-7) vs. Dusko Todorovic (11-2) (Middleweight)
Coming off a statement win in his UFC debut, Chidi Njokuani will face Dusko Todorovic on Saturday’s main card.
Njokuani won his first UFC fight in just 16 seconds a few months back, stopping Marc-Andre Barriault with strikes. The Bellator veteran, who has more than 25 fights across his entire career, joined the UFC roster last year with a finish win on “Dana White’s Contender Series.”
Todorovic picked up a big win in his last fight, snapping a two-fight skid with a first-round victory against Maki Pitolo. He’ll be looking to score a second consecutive UFC victory for the first time on Saturday night.
Bout 10: Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-5) vs. Michel Pereira (27-11) (Welterweight)
Michel Pereira will fight to keep his winning streak going on Saturday night, facing Santiago Ponzinibbio.
Pereira has put together a strong run of four wins since 2020. Three of these wins have come via decision, going against the welterweight’s reputation for being a finisher. He picked up one of the victories at UFC 270 earlier this year, defeating Andre Fialho via unanimous decision.
Ponzinibbio has won two of his past five fights. He last appeared in late 2021, when he lost a split decision to Geoff Neal.
Bout 11: Holly Holm (14-5) vs. Ketlen Vieira (12-2) (Bantamweight)
Ketlen Vieira made a statement last year when she defeated former champion Miesha Tate. She has a chance to defeat another champ on Saturday night, facing Holly Holm in the main event.
Vieira went five rounds in November 2021 for a unanimous decision victory against the aforementioned Tate. This was a big win for her, especially since she was coming off a loss earlier that year against Yana Kunitskaya.
Holm will be a tough test for Vieira. Out of the many reasons, experience is a big one. This weekend marks the ninth time that the former bantamweight titleholder will compete in a five-round UFC fight.
She is coming back following somewhat of a layoff, as her last fight was in October 2020. She went 25 minutes in that bout to defeat Irene Aldana on scorecards. Holm can spoil the momentum of Vieira on Saturday night, and extend her winning streak to three consecutive fights along the way.
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