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This weekend sees the UFC return to the Apex facility for its latest Fight Night event. While it’s not a blockbuster, it looks worth watching regardless.
UFC Fight Night: Alexa Grasso vs. Viviane Araujo features some of the better up-and-comers in the promotion. While the event lacks star power, there are still plenty of fighters to keep an eye on.
Will some of these fighters end up in title contention in the near future? There’s definitely a chance of that happening.
With that in mind, here are five fighters worth keeping an eye on at UFC Fight Night: Alexa Grasso vs. Viviane Araujo.
#5. Misha Cirkunov – UFC light heavyweight
If you rewind just five years back, there were few hotter contenders in the UFC’s light heavyweight division than Misha Cirkunov. The Latvian-Canadian reeled off four straight wins upon his arrival in the octagon to take his record to 13-2 overall. With that, he looked like a definite title threat.
However, after signing a big new contract with the promotion, Cirkunov’s luck changed entirely. He suffered a pair of losses to Volkan Oezdemir and Glover Teixeira, and since the start of 2019, he’s won just once in five bouts and is currently on a three-fight losing streak.
Essentially, then, this weekend’s fight with Alonzo Menifield is probably the last-chance saloon for him. If he can pick up a win, then he might still regain some of the momentum he once had. A loss, though, would probably be the end of his UFC career.
Does Cirkunov still have anything to offer? Moving back up to 205lbs seems like a smart idea and he does still possess a very dangerous ground game, something that Menifield has struggled with before.
Either way, it’s unlikely that their bout will go the distance, making Cirkunov, who has his back to the wall, well worth watching this weekend.
#4. Nick Maximov – UFC middleweight
On a preliminary card that is really low on star power this weekend, the one name that stands out is probably Nick Maximov. That’s because the middleweight prospect is the protégé of UFC legends Nick and Nate Diaz.
Maximov has thus far talked a good game, calling out Khamzat Chimaev after just his second appearance in the octagon. However, his last fight was highly disappointing, as he fell to Andre Petroski, who submitted him with an anaconda choke in just over a minute.
That setback was a bad one, but the truth is that Maximov still has a lot of potential. With a background as an All-American wrestler at Oregon State to go along with the slick grappling skills he’s learned from the Diaz brothers, he definitely has some dangerous skills.
Essentially, it could simply be a case of waiting for him to put all those skills together. Tthis weekend’s bout against Jacob Malkoun – a beatable foe – should give him the chance of doing just that.
If Maximov can pick up an impressive finish, then he’d immediately become a prospect to watch again, making his fight the one to really keep a look out for on the preliminary card this weekend.
#3. Cub Swanson – UFC bantamweight
Given that he’s been fighting professionally for nearly two decades, has been in the UFC since 2011, and is now 38 years old, fans would be forgiven for believing that Cub Swanson is coming towards the end of his career.
Instead, though, ‘Killer Cub’ has actually won three of his last four bouts after snapping a four-fight losing streak between 2017 and 2019. He also looked excellent in his most recent win over veteran Darren Elkins.
More to the point, this weekend will mark his first attempt at fighting as a 135lber. He’s scheduled to face high-action fighter Jonathan Martinez in the co-main event.
The move is an interesting one for Swanson, who appeared to be shredded at 145lbs, bringing into question exactly how he’s going to lose another 10lbs. Assuming he makes the weight, though, if he beats Martinez, there’s even an outside chance that he could climb into contention at bantamweight.
While a title run at this stage of his career is unlikely, one thing Swanson has never failed to provide is entertainment when he steps into the octagon. With that in mind, then, his bout with Martinez will be a must-see one.
If any fight is likely to claim the $50k Fight of the Night bonus this weekend, it’s this one.
#2. Brandon Royval – UFC flyweight
While most of the attention this weekend will be on the headline bout between Alexa Grasso and Viviane Araujo, the fighter in action who may be closest to a UFC title shot is probably flyweight contender Brandon Royval.
‘Raw Dawg’ is riding a two-fight win streak coming into his fight this weekend. More importantly, his overall octagon record stands at 6-2, with one of his wins coming over Kai Kara-France, who recently fought for the interim title.
Sure, Royval has losses to Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja on his ledger, but his fight with ‘The Assassin Baby’ was an exciting one. That means that if the Mexican can reclaim the flyweight title from current champ Deiveson Figueiredo in their upcoming fourth clash, a rematch between he and Royval could work.
Of course, ‘Raw Dawg’ will have to overcome the challenge of Askar Askarov first, and that won’t be easy. ‘Bullet’ has just one loss to his name thus far – to Kara-France – and holds wins over both Pantoja and Joseph Benavidez. More to the point, he also went to a draw with Moreno.
However, due to his more aggressive and entertaining style, it’s Royval who is more likely to bring fireworks this weekend. ‘Raw Dawg’ will have to fend off Askarov’s powerful wrestling, but if he can do that and find a finish, a title shot might be next – making him a man to watch carefully.
#1. Alexa Grasso – UFC women's flyweight
With no offense meant to her opponent Viviane Araujo, the fighter to really keep an eye on this weekend is headliner Alexa Grasso. The Mexican striker has been pegged for stardom for some time now, but it seems like she’s finally reaching her potential – and a win over Araujo could net her a title shot.
While Grasso often struggled with powerful grapplers at 115lbs, that hasn’t seemed to be an issue for her at 125lbs. She’s reeled off three wins since moving there in 2020, most recently defeating Joanne Wood via submission – her first tapout win in the octagon.
It was her 2021 win over Maycee Barber that was really impressive, though, as she was able to fend off the dangerous offense of ‘The Future’ to largely dominate their bout in all areas. With that, she became arguably the best prospect at flyweight.
Can she overcome Araujo? It won’t be easy given the Brazilian’s grappling skills in particular, but Grasso definitely has the striking ability to come out on top in this bout.
Given that current UFC flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko has beaten almost all of her other viable challengers, an impressive win for the Mexican here – particularly if she can produce a finish – would almost certainly net her a shot at the gold, making her the fighter to watch this weekend.
