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#3 UFC Vegas 28: The Main Card
In the middleweight division, Roman Dolidze faces Laureano Staropoli. Quite how these two have made the main card is anyone’s guess given their combined record of 4-3, especially as they’re 0-3 in their most recent fights.
Staropoli is a flashy striker with a tendency to land wild strikes while moving in and out – think a poor man’s Yair Rodriguez. Meanwhile, Dolidze is a little more unproven in the UFC.
Overall, this one is a toss-up, to be honest, but it feels like Dolidze’s grappling is probably going to pull him through for a decision win.
In the welterweight division, Miguel Baeza takes on Santiago Ponzinibbio. This is a huge test for Baeza, who is unbeaten in the UFC at 3-0 and has looked tremendous thus far.
Caramel Thunder is an expert grappler, but he’s also an excellent striker with brutal knockout power. The question here is whether he has enough to get past a wily veteran like Ponzinibbio, who’s been around the top of the division for years.
However, the fact that Ponzinibbio didn’t look like his old self in his most recent fight, a KO loss to Li Jingliang, is a huge red flag here. It's even more pertinent as he hadn’t fought since 2018 prior to that. So with that in mind, the pick is Baeza via TKO.
At middleweight, Dusko Todorovic takes on Gregory Rodrigues, a late replacement for Maki Pitolo.
Prior to his recent loss to Punahele Soriano, Todorovic looked very much like a dangerous prospect, with 10 wins to his name, all by stoppage.
Given Rodrigues’ so-so 9-3 record and late notice, it’s likely that Todorovic will get back into the winner’s circle here, probably by TKO.
Finally, at middleweight, Tom Breese faces Antonio Arroyo. Once considered a top prospect, Breese has slipped recently, largely because his durability has proven to be questionable. However, he still possesses excellent skills, including a tight ground game and a ramrod jab.
Arroyo is more of a flashy fighter, but he doesn’t possess the technical skills of Breese. This should come down to whether he can catch the Englishman with something heavy or wrap him up on the ground.
However, Breese’s technical smarts and experience should pull him through for a decision in what is a close fight to call.
#4 UFC Vegas 28: The Preliminary card
Picks in bold
UFC flyweight division: Montana de la Rosa vs. Ariane Lipski
UFC heavyweight division: Tanner Boser vs. Ilir Latifi
UFC welterweight division: Francisco Trinaldo vs. Muslim Salikhov
UFC lightweight division: Alan Patrick vs. Mason Jones
UFC flyweight division: Manon Fiorot vs. Maryna Moroz
UFC featherweight division: Sean Woodson vs. Youssef Zalal
UFC lightweight division: Claudio Puelles vs. Jordan Leavitt
UFC featherweight division: Makwan Amirkhani vs. Kamuela Kirk
