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Another Saturday of UFC action is nearly upon us and another exciting card is all ready to go. This week’s event sees a return to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The UFC welcomed back another full crowd at UFC 264 last weekend. A 20,000+ strong audience enjoyed live action at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the first time since last March. The event marked the fourth to be held in front of a full crowd since the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. As with the last three pay-per-views, the event delivered some memorable moments.
Understandably, fans are looking ahead to the next event with fans and another exciting looking PPV that includes a blockbuster interim heavyweight title fight between Ciryl Gane and Derrick Lewis, but the Apex isn’t finished providing us with great matchups just yet and this week’s headliner sees a great battle of lightweight contenders.
UFC Vegas 31: Islam Makhachev vs. Thiago Moises
After the cancelation of Yair Rodriguez's return fight against former featherweight champion Max Holloway, the matchup between Islam Makhachev and Thiago Moises was bumped up from a three-round co-main event to the headlining spot.
The Dagestani will look to continue his rise in the UFC by extending his dominant winning streak to eight with a victory over the Brazilian. Meanwhile, Moises will look to enhance his reputation as one of the division's top prospects by springing an upset against the 29-year-old. Elsewhere on the card, former UFC women's bantamweight champion Miesha Tate makes her return to action, Jeremy Stephens looks to derail the Mateusz Gamrot hype train, and the likes of Daniel Rodriguez, Billy Quarantillo and Miles John are all set to feature.
The card has the potential to be a highly entertaining watch. With that said, here are five names to look out for at UFC Vegas 31.
#5. Rodrigo Nascimento - UFC heavyweight
UFC vegas 31 this weekend will see an octagon-shaking heavyweight bout go down between Brazil's Rodrigo Nascimento and France's Alan Baudot. Nascimento is a promising prospect out of American Top Team and boasts an impressive career so far.
After building a perfect 5-0 record that included five finishes, four of which came in the very first round, 'Ze Colmeia' registered his sixth victory during an appearance on Dana White's Contender Series. In a fashion that had become familiar to him, Nascimento earned a UFC contract after securing another first-round submission victory.
After forcing another opponent to submit in his promotional debut against Don'Tale Mayes at UFC on ESPN 8 last May, Nascimento looked to be on track for a rapid rise in the division. But a knockout loss inside 45 seconds against Chris Daukaus last October saw him fall to his first MMA loss and stalled his heavyweight surge.
Against Baudot, who lost to rising star Tom Aspinall last time out, Nascimento will be looking to re-enter the win column and begin climbing up the heavyweight ladder again. With eight finishes in his eight victories, he is certainly one to watch this weekend. If you're looking to gamble on a fight not going the distance, there isn't a safer choice than this matchup.
#4. Miles Johns - UFC bantamweight
Whenever anyone produces a highlight reel knockout as brutal as Miles Johns did at UFC Vegas 12, they have to be one to watch the next time they're in action.
On the undercard of Anderson Silva's final fight in the UFC, Johns faced Kevin Natividad. Midway through the final round, Natividad was rendered unconscious by a swift and vicious right hand. Not many victims of a KO have crumpled and fallen as awkwardly as he did. The win last October was Johns 10th in MMA and a fast rebound following his first defeat in the sport at the hands of Mario Bautista earlier in 2020.
Having previously been on a nine-fight winning streak heading into last year, 'Chapo' will look to build a new streak with a win against veteran campaigner Anderson dos Santos this weekend. If he can produce another finish like in his last fight, he'll certainly establish his name in the 135-pound division.
#3. Daniel Rodriguez - UFC welterweight
Daniel Rodriguez is a dangerous welterweight. Last time out at UFC Vegas 23, he broke Mike Perry’s nose with one of the first jabs he landed. If we were given money every time Perry broke his nose, we’d be millionaires, so that might not be saying much. But Rodriguez does have the striking and the power to damage anyone.
Against a dangerous opponent, he was dominant. ‘D-Rod’ brought slick striking and impressive power to the cage, as he often does. For 15 minutes, the 34-year-old battered and bloodied ‘Platinum’ Perry.
With the win, Rodriguez moved to 4-1 in the UFC. The one defeat on his record was a loss to Nicholas Dalby by way of what was a controversial decision. If Rodriguez had been given the nod on the scorecards, as many thought he should have, he’d be unbeaten in the UFC and on an 11-fight winning streak.
At UFC Vegas 31 this weekend, Rodriguez was scheduled for an intriguing matchup against Abubakar Nurmagomedov. Unfortunately, the Russian withdrew from the event less than two weeks prior to the card.
The search for a new opponent led the UFC to octagon-newcomer Preston Parsons. The debutant is on a four-fight winning streak and will be looking to spring a short notice upset against the in-form 'D-Rod'. But with 11 finishes in his 14 victories and an impressive and entertaining stint in the UFC so far, Rodriguez is certainly one of the top names to look out for this Saturday.
#2. Mateusz Gamrot - UFC lightweight
While Jan Blachowicz continues to put Polish MMA on the map with his reign as UFC light heavyweight champion, there's another Pole threatening to follow in his footsteps to UFC gold. Mateusz Gamrot boasts an impressive record and he's firmly arrived in the UFC. This weekend he gets his chance to make an impression against an established name in the UFC when he faces Jeremy Stephens on the UFC Vegas 31 main card.
In 19 professional MMA fights, 'Gamer' has 18 victories. The only blemish on his record came on his UFC debut against Guram Kutateladze, a decision which was controversial and largely criticized. Had he been awarded the win most felt he deserved, Gamrot would have a perfect 19-0 record. The 30-year-old was keen to make up for his disappointing first walk to the octagon when he faced Scott Holtzman at UFC Vegas 23. A convincing second-round knockout firmly got him back on track.
As a promising name who almost everyone has failed to crack when facing, Gamrot is certainly one to watch this weekend, especially given the name he's entering the octagon with. A win would see him rise further up the lightweight ladder and likely secure a ranked opponent next time out.
#1. Islam Makhachev - UFC lightweight
In the headlining fight of UFC Vegas 31, rising Dagestani brute Islam Makhachev will look to extend his winning streak to eight against #14-ranked Thiago Moises. Not many men are as highly tipped for title glory in the UFC as Makhachev.
In 20 professional fights, the 29-year-old has had his arm raised on 19 occasions. A seven-fight winning streak since the only blemish on his record in 2015 has seen Makhachev dominate the likes of Drew Dober, Davi Ramos, Arman Tsarukyan and Gleison Tibau. Under the tutelage of one of the greatest of all time in the form of Khabib Nurmagomedov, the Russian lightweight is as scary as ever.
After Max Holloway was forced out of the original main event with Yair Rodriguez, Makhachev has found himself with the chance to secure his first main event win in the UFC. Against Moises, who is riding a four-fight winning streak into the event, Makhachev will look to push closer to a title shot and secure a big name opponent in the months after.
