Unfortunately, we’ve seen some bad things at UFC Vegas 63, despite it being an ok card. Roman Dolidze defeated Phil Hawes in the prelims after his knee popped up, which led to a Performance of the Night bonus for Dolidze too.
Calvin Kattar tried to unload a big flying knee on Arnold Allen, but his right knee popped when he landed, which led to a second-round TKO loss.
Well, robberies happen from time to time, but judges went too far in the match between Khalil Rountree Jr and Dustin Jacoby. Maybe they were high, who knows? Jacoby was outstriking Khalil for three rounds to lose the fight via split decision. Please take a look at the stats below!
Now a bit more on the Fight of the Night bonuses. Christian Rodriguez stopped Joshua Weems via anaconda choke for a FOTN award.
Steve Garcia battered Chase Hooper, his great level changes and powerful strikes led to a first-round stoppage win, while Tresean Gore pulled out a great guillotine choke on Josh Fremd and put him to sleep.
In the main event of Bellator 287, Mansour Barnaoui took Piccolotti’s back, put both hooks in, and finished him with a great submission.
The promotion stays in Las Vegas, Nevada, for another entertaining event. It kicks off at 4 PM ET, and you can watch it on ESPN+ or UFC on Fight Pass. The event is headlined by the bout between Muay Thai fighter Marina Rodriguez and durable long-war expert Amanda Lemos. This could turn into a great 5-round affair.
Photo: @UFCBrasil Twitter
Prediction: the fight goes the distance or Rodriguez wins (-210)
Neil Magny vs Daniel Rodriguez is a 50/50 fight, as both of them are known for technical strikes and looking for openings. They will not trade right off the bat, both of them are slow starters. Magny has more experience, so he might get a slight advantage, but this will probably last for three rounds.
Prediction: the fight goes the distance, or Magny wins (-115)
Please take a look at the whole fight card below.
Main Card (7 PM ET, midnight UK time, ESPN+, UFC on Fight Pass)
Strawweight: Marina Rodriguez (16-1-2) vs. Amanda Lemos (12-2-1)
Welterweight: Neil Magny (26-9-0) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (17-2-0)
Heavyweight: Josh Parisian (15-5-0) vs. Chase Sherman (16-10-0)
Flyweight: Tagir Ulanbekov (13-2-0) vs. Nate Maness (14-2-0)
Lightweight: Mark Madsen (12-0-0) vs. Grant Dawson (18-1-1)
Heavyweight: Jailton Almeida (17-2-0) vs. Maxim Grishin (32-9-2)
Preliminary Card (4 PM ET, 9 PM UK time, ESPN+, UFC on Fight Pass)
Featherweight: Darrick Minner (26-13-0) vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke (37-10-0)
Flyweight: Miranda Maverick (10-4-0) vs. Shanna Young (8-4-0)
Bantamweight: Mario Bautista (10-2-0) vs. Benito Lopez (10-1-0)
Strawweight: Jinh Yu Frey (11-7-0) vs. Polyana Viana (12-5-0)
Bantamweight: Johnny Munoz Jr. (11-2-0) vs. Liudvik Sholinian (9-2-1)
Flyweight: Jake Hadley (8-1-0) vs. Carlos Candelario (8-2-0)
Bantamweight: Ramona Pascual (6-4-0) vs. Tamires Vidal (6-1-0)
Here are my predictions for the upcoming card.
This event looks pretty much promising, but the fans are probably going to criticize it as there are many female fights. Yet, you should give every fighter a shot, and pay close attention to Jailton Almeida and Mark Madsen in the main card, as the two might get into title contention with a few more back-to-back wins.
