UFC Vegas 33: Fights to watch and 2 that may disappoint

#1. Fight that will likely disappoint at UFC Vegas 33: Nicco Montaño vs. Wu Yanan

UFC Vegas 33: Wu Yanan vs. Nicco Montaño [Photo credit: @ufc on Twitter]

Bantamweights Nicco Montaño and Wu Yanan will lock horns on the preliminary card of Saturday's UFC Vegas 33 event.

Montaño, 32, will appear for only her third outing in the octagon despite being with the UFC since 2017. She made her way into the promotion by winning the 26th season of The Ultimate Fighter. Montaño then made history by becoming the inaugural UFC women's flyweight champion in 2017.

However, her reign was short-lived as she was forced to drop the title when she pulled out of a scheduled title fight against eventual champion Valentina Shevchenko. Montaño fought once more against Julianna Pena in 2019 and hasn't returned since after losing a unanimous decision.

The veteran will end her long inactivity against China's Yanan. 'Mulan' has been unsuccessful in her UFC journey so far, but the 25-year-old has a lot of room left to grow. At UFC Vegas 33, Yanan will try to end her two-fight skid in her second appearance of 2021.

Normally, a former champion's fight is something to look forward to. However, both Montaño and Yanan have been unimpressive in both of their respective fights. With that in mind, this preliminary card showdown is likely to disappoint.

#1. Fight to look forward to at UFC Vegas 33: Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland

The main event clash between top middleweight contenders Uriah Hall and Sean Strickland is shaping up to be an exciting battle between two talented strikers.

Once considered the next big thing at middleweight, Hall's God-given talents have finally translated into meaningful wins inside the octagon. 'Prime Time' is poised to contend for the title after winning four straight, including back-to-back TKO victories over former middleweight champs Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman.

Similarly, Strickland is enjoying a successful run of four wins, including notable victories over Brendan Allen and Krzysztof Jotko. A motorcycle accident hasn't slowed 'Tarzan' down as he's currently unbeaten since moving to 185 pounds.

Hall's phenomenal takedown defense and Strickland's lack of penchant for wrestling suggests that this main event clash will be decided on the feet. That said, we can expect fireworks to close out UFC Vegas 33.