The first bout of the evening pits three-fight UFC veteran Jessin Ayari against Brazil’s Luigi Vendramini in a lightweight contest. Ayari hasn’t fought since October 2018 and is on a 2 fight losing streak after coming up against tough British opposition in Darren Till and Stevie Ray. Vendramini is also coming off a loss as he had a tough UFC debut against Elizeu Zaleski and also hasn’t fought since 2018. Both men will be desperate to get back into winning ways, will the gritty Ayari get the nod or will Vendramini use his jiu-jitsu and take down the German!?
The second preliminary contest of the evening is a bantamweight bout between Casey Kenney and Heili Alateng with the winner hoping to break into the top 15 rankings. Kenney the former LFA bantamweight champion has had a successful start to his UFC career with a notable win over flyweight staple Ray Borg and looks to build on that with a win on Saturday night. Alateng is so far unbeaten in the UFC winning his first two bouts with decision wins over Danaa Batgerel and Ryan Benoit. This will be a close contest with both men hoping to climb the ranks with a victory.
Next up is a women’s strawweight bout between Loma Lookboonme and former Invicta atomweight champion Jinh Yu Frey. Both women haven’t had great starts to their UFC careers and both are coming off recent losses, Lookboonme lost on points to recent UFC main event contender Angela Hill and Frey was tapped out in the third round of her last bout against Kay Hansen. Both women will be looking to get back into the win column on Saturday night.
A middleweight contest here between UFC debutants Jordan Williams and Nassourdine Imavov. Williams has a quick turn around after knocking out Gregory Rodrigues in the first round in the contender series only two weeks ago after his third appearance. Imavov, otherwise known as the ‘Russian Sniper’, is another Dagestani born fighter who is currently fighting out of France and will be looking to build on his five-fight win streak. This will be a classic case of striker vs grappler who will impose their will, we find out Saturday!
Next up we have a featherweight contest between Joshua Culibao and Charles ‘Air’ Jourdain. Both men are coming off losses, Culibao was stopped in the second round to ground and pound in his UFC debut against Jalin Turner. Jourdain is coming off a split decision loss to UFC veteran Andre Fili and the former TKO featherweight champion will be looking to get back to winning ways. An important fight for both fighters as neither will be wanting back to back losses.
The featured bout of the preliminary card pits former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit against TUF 11 welterweight champion Court McGee. I thought that this fight would be on the main card, but anyway, this is a huge fight for both men as ‘The Natural Born Killer’ is on a five-fight losing and streak and McGee has lost four fights in his last five bouts. Condit is a veteran who has faced the who’s who of the welterweight division and will be looking to keep the fight standing and use his kickboxing to pick his opponent apart. McGee needs to use his wrestling skills to get this fight to the ground as he is at a huge disadvantage standing with Condit. Another striker vs grappler bout here with both fighters in desperate need of a win!
The first fight of the main card starts at middleweight in a contest between Dequan Townsend and UFC debutant Dusko Todorovic. Townsend is another fighter in desperate need of a win as he is currently on a three-fight losing streak with his most recent loss coming in the form of a decision to Devin Clark. Todorovic is making his debut after being rewarded a contract by defeating Teddy Ash by decision in the contender series last year, he has been booked to fight Welshman John Phillips on three occasions and each time was cancelled due to injuries and the pandemic. The 26-year-old Serbian fighter has a notable first-round knockout victory over Michel Pereira and will finally step into the octagon on Saturday night looking to add to his nine-fight winning streak in which will be a stand-up battle!
The second bout on the main card comes at bantamweight and will be contested by Kyler Phillips and UFC debutant Cameron Else. The Ultimate Fighter season 27 veteran will be looking to build on his two-fight winning streak after an impressive decision victory in his last fight against Gabriel Silva. Else is making his UFC debut and is riding a six-fight winning streak of his own and has finished each of his last six opponents in the very first round. Can ‘Matrix’ Phillips pick up his second UFC win of his career or will Else tear through him like he has his last six opponents? We find out Saturday night!
A high profile top 5 women’s bantamweight fight here as number #1 ranked Germaine De Randamie takes on number #4 ranked Julianna Pena. De Randamie’s last fight came in December last year as she took on the female GOAT in Amanda Nunes and came up short losing by decision, although she did have success in the stand-up she fell short when Nunes took her down at will and out-pointed her. The former featherweight champion De Randamie is a world-class kickboxer and has a record of 46-0, she will be looking to keep the fight standing and finish Pena with strikes. Pena’s last fight came in July last year when she beat former flyweight champion, Nicco Montano, via unanimous decision, she will be looking to control De Randamie and limit her striking abilities by using her wrestling and her ground game. The winner of this fight just might set up a number one contender fight with the winner of this cards main event!
The Co-Main event and the big boys are on deck in this heavyweight bout between big hitters Yorgan De Castro and Carlos Felipe. Both fighters will be looking to bounce back from losses as De Castro lost a decision in his fight to Greg Hardy and Felipe lost in the same fashion to Sergey Spivak. De Castro has had success in the octagon after a debut victory over Justin Tafa knocking him out in the first round, he will be looking to bounce back into the win column and Felipe will be looking for his first UFC win. Both men will be looking for a good performance on Saturday night.
The main event of the evening! Another high profile women’s bantamweight bout between number #2 ranked Holly Holm and number #6 ranked Irene Aldana. This five-round main event is anticipated to be a stand-up striking war between two of the best strikers in the women’s bantamweight division. Holm will be looking to use her kickboxing to take out her opponent as she looks to have another run at the title, recapture the bantamweight belt and become the champion of the world for the second time. Aldana has risen through the ranks and is fighting in her first main event, she will be hoping to halt ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ and build a momentum of her own in her quest to feel UFC gold around her waist. Both fighters will be looking to impress and finish their respective opponent in hopes of earning a shot at the bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.