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Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs Dolidze 2
Breaking Down The Action Set To Hit The Octagon This Weekend At The UFC APEX
By E. Spencer Kyte, on X @spencerkyte
The UFC wraps up a three-week home stand in Las Vegas with a return to the UFC APEX on Saturday for a 13-fight card headlined by a rematch between Top 15 middleweights Marvin Vettori and Roman Dolidze.
Here’s a closer look at the lineup and a breakdown of what to expect from each pairing when they make their way into the Octagon on Saturday.
Main Event Matchup: Marvin Vettori vs Roman Dolidze 2
Two years after their first encounter, Marvin Vettori and Roman Dolidze will renew hostilities in the main event of Saturday’s fight card at the UFC APEX.
Vettori returns for the first time since June 2023, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Top 10 mainstay Jared Cannonier. “The Italian Dream” has alternated wins and losses over his last six fights, and carries a 9-5-1 record inside the Octagon into his sixth main event assignment in the UFC.
Dolidze logged three appearances last year, opening his 2024 campaign with a majority decision loss to Nassourdine Imavov before out-hustling Anthony Smith in a light heavyweight matchup at UFC 303 and earning a stoppage win over Kevin Holland at UFC 307 in early October. The Georgian grinder is 14-3 overall and 6-2 over his last eight appearances, with Vettori accounting for the first of those two setbacks during that stretch.
Their first meeting at UFC 286 in London was a competitive affair that Vettori won by unanimous decision, earning all three rounds in the eyes of one official, while the other two gave Dolidze the first and his counterpart the second and third. But it feels like each man is in a very different position this time around, especially with Vettori having shifted his training to American Top Team, so it will be interesting to see how differently things play out when they run it back here.
Additional Main Card Bouts
Chidi Njokuani vs Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
Talented, veteran welterweights Chidi Njokuani and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos share the Octagon in what should be an entertaining battle between skilled strikers this weekend.
Last year was a bounce-back year for Njokuani, who dropped down to the 170-pound ranks and halted a three-fight skid while registering decision wins over Rhys McKee and Jared Gooden. While he’s yet to flash the finishing skills that initially earned him his UFC contract and wins over Marc-Andre Barriault and Dusko Todorovic to begin his time competing in the Octagon, “Bang” continues to bring the heat whenever he crosses into the cage.
The 38-year-old dos Santos split a pair of appearances in 2024, dropping a unanimous decision to Randy Brown at UFC 302 before rebounding with a first-round stoppage win over short-notice replacement Zach Scroggin in early November to move to 25-8-1 overall. One of the most unheralded fighters in the division, dos Santos has been a welterweight mainstay for nearly a decade, and can consistently be counted on to deliver the goods each time out.
SeungWoo Choi vs Kevin Vallejos
South Korean veteran SeungWoo Choi welcomes recent Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) grad Kevin Vallejos to the Octagon for the first time in this intriguing featherweight fixture.
Choi touches down in Las Vegas looking to get back into the win column and recapture the form that produced wins over Youssef Zalal and Julian Erosa earlier in his career. Never one to back down from a scrap, “Sting” will aim to lean on his experience both inside the Octagon and overall as he takes on the promising newcomer this weekend.
Vallejos needed two tries to earn his place on the UFC roster through the annual talent search series, losing in Season 7 to Jean Silva before securing a first-round finish and contract last season. While several members of the Class of ’24 have already impressed, it would not be surprising if Vallejos becomes one of the best of this exceptional group in the not-too-distantfuture.
This is an outstanding matchup that should establish where Vallejos stands in his development and in terms of the division straight away. He profiles as someone that could hit the ground running, like Silva has thus far, but Choi is the kind of game, proud veteran that isn’t going to go away easily.
Alexander Hernandez vs Kurt Holobaugh
Alexander Hernandez and Kurt Holobaugh clash in a battle of veteran lightweights on Saturday’s main card.
Now 32, Hernandez enters this weekend’s matchup off a hard-fought win over Austin Hubbard at UFC 307. He’s gone 5-7 in the dozen starts since beginning his UFC run with consecutive wins over Beneil Dariush and Olivier Aubin-Mercier, occasionally dipping his toes in the featherweight waters, but appears to be at his best when competing in the 155-pound weight class as he does here.
Holobaugh collected a second-round submission finish over Hubbard in the summer of 2023 to win the TUF 31 lightweight competition before splitting a pair of appearances last year in his first full year back on the roster. The bayou-based 38-year-old picked up his first post-TUF UFC win last time out, getting the better of Kaynan Kruschewsky in July, and will look to build on this milestone moment in this one.
Da’Mon Blackshear vs Cody Gibson
Veteran grapplers Da’Mon Blackshear and Cody Gibson face off in the second of two consecutive bantamweight bouts to open the main card.
Blackshear is just 3-3-1 inside the Octagon, but his strength of schedule has been one of the toughest amongst the 135-pound class. Last time out, “The Monster” halted a two-fight skid by submitting divisional mainstay Cody Stamann in the opening round, moving to 15-7-1 overall with the victory.
After coming out on the wrong side of the cards in his TUF 31 bantamweight finale bout with Brad Katona and against Miles Johns, Gibson rebounded with a pair of impressive wins in the back half of the year. He steamrolled and submitted Brian Kelleher in July, and then ventured north of the border to grind out another win over Chad Anheliger.
In an ideal world, this will be a scramble-filled battle between a pair of talented grapplers who do their best work on the canvas. But even if that isn’t how things play out, it should be a competitive scrap between a pair of experienced hands looking to keep making headway in the talent-rich bantamweight ranks.
SuYoung You vs AJ Cunningham
Road to UFC winner SuYoung You makes his next start against DWCS alum AJ Cunningham in this bantamweight main card opener.
You posted a trio of victories to close out his 2024 campaign and win the Road to UFC bantamweight tournament, defeating Shohei Nose, Daermisi Zhawupasi, and Baergeng Jieleyisi. The 29-year-old has been super-active over the last three years, making 10 appearances during that stretch, producing a 7-1 record with two no contest results.
The 30-year-old Cunningham appeared on Season 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series, losing a back-and-forth slugfest with Steven Nguyen before returning to the regional circuit and posting a first-round stoppage win to get things moving in the right direction. He landed on the business end of a one-sided result in his short-notice call-up last March against surging lightweight Ludovit Klein and will look to once again right the ship this weekend.
Preliminary Card Pairings
Waldo Cortes Acosta vs Ryan Spann
Heavyweights close out the prelims as DWCS grads Waldo Cortes Acosta and Ryan Spann go head-to-head on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Cortes Acosta enters on a three-fight winning streak and has gone 5-1 over his first six UFC appearances to land at No. 12 in the heavyweight rankings. Spann moves up to heavyweight for the first time, hoping to replicate the success of his former teammate Kennedy Nzechukwu while showcasing the skills that produced stoppage wins over Misha Cirkunov, Dominick Reyes, and Ovince Saint Preux in the past.
Stephanie Luciano vs Sam Hughes
Brazilian strawweight Stephanie Luciano returns for her sophomore appearance in the Octagon, stepping in against Fortis MMA veteran Sam Hughes.
After battling Talita Alencar to a draw in their bout during Season 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series, “Rondinha” earned a victory over her compatriot in the rematch last August to advance to 6-1-1 overall to start her career. Hughes comes into this one off a split decision win over Viktoriia Dudakva in August and has a history of pushing promising newcomers early in their UFC careers.
Diyar Nurgozhay vs Brendson Ribeiro
DWCS graduates Diyar Nurgozhay and Brendson Ribeiro face off in what should be a combustible bout in the light heavyweight division on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Nurgozhay is a perfect 10-0 in his career, having followed his first-round stoppage win over DWCS alum and former PFL champ Emiliano Sordi with a second-round finish of Bartosz Szewczyk to earn his place on the UFC roster. A member of the DWCS Class of ’23, Ribeiro dropped his first two appearances inside the Octagon to Zhang Mingyanhg and Magomed Gadhziyasulov before registering a split decision victory over Caio Machado last time out.
Carlos Vera vs Josias Musasa
TUF alum Carlos Vera gets his first full-camp opportunity in the UFC as he welcomes recent Contender Series graduate Josias Musasa to the Octagon for the first time this weekend.
A member of Conor McGregor’s prospect crew on Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter, Vera lost to eventual bantamweight winner Brad Katona in the opening round and dropped a short-notice decision to Rinya Nakamura last year in his promotional debut. Unbeaten in eight professional appearances, the 26-year-old Musasa is raw, but possesses a ton of upside, having won each of his first seven bouts by stoppage.
Daniel Barez vs Andre Lima
Talented flyweights clash here as Spain’s Daniel Barez takes on unbeaten Brazilian Andre Lima in preliminary card action.
Barez collected a unanimous decision win over Victor Altamirano in September after dropping his short-notice debut to Jafel Filho more than a year earlier, moving to 17-6 in the process. “Mascote” earned a trio of wins in 2024, following up his infamous DQ victory over Igor Severino with decision nods over Mitch Raposo and Felipe dos Santos to move to 10-0 overall.
Josiane Nunes vs Priscila Cachoeira
It’s an all-Brazilian affair in the bantamweight division as Josiane Nunes and Priscila Cachoeira go head-to-head on Saturday’s prelims.
After winning each of her first three appearances inside the Octagon, the diminutive Nunes enters this one having dropped back-to-back contests against Chelsea Chandler and Jacqueline Cavalcanti. The 36-year-old Cachoeira has also dropped consecutive outings, having been submitted by both Miranda Maverick and Jasmine Jasudavicius in the third round.
Yuneisy Duben vs Carli Judice
DWCS alums open the show this weekend as Yuneisy Duben squares off with Carli Judice.
Duben delivered arguably the biggest upset of Season 8, knocking out Shannon Clark in 73 seconds to move to 6-0 and land herself a place on the UFC roster. Judice impressed enough in her split decision loss to Ernesta Kareckaite in Season 7 to earn a contract, and garnered Fight of the Night honors in her competitive loss to Gabriella Fernandes last time out.
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