UFC Vegas 64 looked weak, but there were many high-level finishes. The main event of the evening brought a surprising standing TKO win of Amanda Lemos over Marina Rodriguez in the third.
Four fighters scored Performance of the Night bonuses for their finishes. Neil Magny stopped D-Rod in the third round after a very competitive and tactical two periods.
Mario Bautista pulled out an impressive triangle armbar over Benito Lopez for one of the most legendary submission finishes ever.
Polyana Viana stormed Jinh Yu Frey with an early barrage of punches and scored a knockout victory in the early stages of the first round. This was the fastest finish on the card.
Tamires Vidal opened the card with a flying knee to the body of Ramona Pascual. The Hongkong-born fighter fell to the ground and the ref instantly waved off the contest.
This weekend, the UFC is moving to Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, for a UFC 281 pay-per-view event. The event will start at 6 PM ET on Saturday (11 PM UK time), and you can watch it at UFC on Fight Pass or ESPN+, depending on your geolocation.
This fantastic event is headlined by a potential stand-up affair between the Nigerian-born kickboxer Israel Adesanya and left hook specialist and knockout artist Alex “Poatan” Pereira.
Photo: @UFCBrasil
The two already fought in kickboxing twice, and Pereira won both battles. Yet, this is an MMA combat, the ring is different, which means Adesanya will be able to circle and feint more.
This cage is way bigger than a kickboxing ring. Yet, Pereira KO’d Strickland in a violent fashion, this is a real threat to Adesanya’s title, as one punch can change everything.
Prediction: Pereira to win (+158)
In the co-main event of the evening, wrestling expert Carla Esparza will try to defend her belt against brutal striker Weili Zhang.
Weili Zhang is very powerful and tricky on the feet, plus she loves fighting wrestlers – she turned the lights out on Jessica Andrade in only 42 seconds. Unless Esparza pins her to the ground, this should be a victory for the first-ever former UFC champ from China.
Prediction: Weili Zhang to win (-360)
Please take a look at the whole card here. There are so many promising fights on this PPV card.
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV, 10 PM ET, 4 AM CET)
UFC Middleweight Championship (185 pounds): Israel Adesanya (23-1-0) vs. Alex Pereira (6-1-0)
UFC Strawweight Championship (115 pounds): Carla Esparza (19-6-0) vs. Weili Zhang (22-3-0)
Lightweight (155 pounds): Dustin Poirier (28-7-0) vs. Michael Chandler (23-7-0)
Bantamweight (135 pounds): Frankie Edgar (24-10-1) vs. Chris Gutierrez (18-3-2)
Lightweight (155 pounds): Dan Hooker (21-12-0) vs. Claudio Puelles (12-2-0)
Preliminary Card (4 PM ET, 10 PM CET, UFC on Fight Pass, ESPN+)
Lightweight (155 pounds): Renato Moicano (16-5-1) vs. Brad Riddell (10-3-0)
Light Heavyweight (205 pounds): Dominick Reyes (12-3-0) vs. Ryan Spann (20-7-0)
Flyweight (125 pounds): Erin Blanchfield (9-1-0) vs. Molly McCann (13-4-0)
Middleweight (185 pounds): Andre Petroski (8-1-0) vs. Wellington Turman (8-5-0)
Lightweight (155 pounds): Ottman Azaitar (13-0-0) vs. Matt Frevola (9-3-1)
Strawweight (115 pounds): Karolina Kowalkiewicz (13-7-0) vs. Silvana Gómez Juárez (11-4-0)
Featherweight (145 pounds): Mike Trizano (9-3-0) vs. Seung Woo Choi (10-5-0)
Bantamweight (135 pounds): Julio Arce (18-5-0) vs. Montel Jackson (11-2-0)
Light Heavyweight (205 pounds): Carlos Ulberg (6-1-0) vs. Nicolae Negumereanu (13-1-0)
Here are my predictions for the whole card:
This is one of the best cards of the year, I bet you’ll see many high-level knockouts! Please don’t miss this one, you can expect the fireworks!UFC 281 “Adesanya Vs Perreira” + Weekly MMA Report
