|
Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Burns vs Morales
Laying Out The Lineup For This Weekend’s Return To The UFC APEX
By E. Spencer Kyte
There really isn’t anything better than home cooking.
Sure, traveling around to different locations, sampling the local cuisine can be fun, can introduce you to some new favorites but, at some point, during all that globe-trotting, everyone yearns for familiar surroundings and one of their favorite meals, enjoyed in the comfort of their own home.
Saturday night offers up the UFC equivalent of a home-cooked comfort meal — a 12-fight card from the confines of the UFC APEX, headlined by a tremendous welterweight matchup between Gilbert Burns and Michael Morales.
What? You thought I was talking about chicken pot pie or Mom’s signature meatloaf?We’re back to face-punching in Las Vegas, and it feels like home.
Here’s a closer look at his weekend’s lineup.
Welterweight Main Event: Gilbert Burns vs Michael Morales
Former title challenger Gilbert Burns looks to get things moving in the right direction while unbeaten prospect Michael Morales aims to take another step up the division ladder when they square off in Saturday night’s main event.
Burns competes for the first time since September, aiming to halt a three-fight slide where his losses came against Sean Brady, Jack Della Maddalena, and Belal Muhammad, three of the top four or five fighters in the division. The 38-year-old Brazilian remains a tough out for anyone and a serious test for ascending hopefuls that have not yet graduated to competing in the upper tier of the 170-pound weight class.
Perfect through his first five UFC appearances and 17 professional fights, Morales returns to Las Vegas looking to build on his most recent effort, a first-round stoppage win over Neil Magny last August that earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus. A member of the Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) Class of ’21, the Ecuadorian has taken a slower path towards the Top 10 than some other recent graduates but has flashed serious upside the whole way through.
Fights like this remain absolute musts in the sport and must-see TV if you’re a fan. Burns has struggled as of late, but remains one of the most respected competitors in the division, while Morales is taking a major step up in competition, looking to show he deserves to be mentioned alongside fellow emerging contenders like Joaquin Buckley and Ian Machado Garry. We’re going to find out a great deal about where each of these men currently stand within the division on Saturday night, and regardless of how it plays out, it should be wildly entertaining to watch.
Additional Main Card Matchups
Rodolfo Bellato vs Paul Craig
The co-main event takes place in the light heavyweight division, as Rodolfo Bellatowelcomes Scottish veteran Paul Craig back to the 205-pound ranks.
Through 15 professional fights, Bellato is unbeaten any time he doesn’t share the age with Vitor Petrino, who has handed his compatriot the only two losses of his career. Last time out, the DWCS grad battled the returning Jimmy Crute to a majority draw in a grimy back-and-forth battle at UFC 312 that extended his overall unbeaten streak to five.
Craig had previously worked his way into the Top 10 on the strength of a four-fight winning streak and six-fight unbeaten streak before consecutive losses to Volkan Oezdemir and Johnny Walker prompted him to move down a division. After winning his middleweight debut, the submission ace dropped three straight, most recently landing on the wrong side of the cards in a low-output bout with Bo Nickal at UFC 309 in November.
This is an excellent measuring stick bout for Bellato and a chance for Craig to potentially start fresh by relocating to familiar territory. Can the Brazilian keep rolling or will the “BearJew” come up big in his light heavyweight return?
Sodiq Yusuff vs Mairon Santos
Business shifts to the lightweight division here as Sodiq Yusuff makes his first UFC start at 155 pounds to take on recent TUF winner Mairon Santos.
A member of the second group to graduate from Dana White’s Contender Series, Yusuff opened his UFC career with wins in six of his first seven appearances, with his lone setback coming against Arnold Allen. Since then, however, the 31-year-old Nigerian has dropped back-to-back contests to Edson Barboza and Diego Lopes.
Santos’ run on Season 32 of The Ultimate Fighter got better with each passing appearance, culminating in a second-round stoppage win over Kaan Ofli to claim the featherweight tournament win. Last time out, “The Legend” landed on the happy side of a debated split decision verdict in a fight with Francis Marshall.
Yusuff was a fixture in the Top 15 for some time, and only slipped out due to the combination of a year on the sidelines and the emergence of and handful of new standouts in his stead. After eking out a decision win that some question, Santos gets the opportunity to instantly show where he fits in his new weight class if he can spoil the return of “Super Sodiq” on Saturday.
Dustin Stoltzfus vs Nursulton Ruziboev
Dustin Stoltzfus and Nursulton Ruziboev face off in a clash of middleweight finishers midway through this weekend’s main card.
Stoltzfus has alternated wins and losses over his five outings, coming into this matchup off a first-round knockout win over Marc-Andre Barriault in Edmonton back in November. It’s largely been “kill or be killed” when the DWCS grad has stepped into the Octagon, as six of his eight UFC appearances have ended inside the distance.
Ruziboev burst onto the scene with a short-notice knockout win over Brunno Ferreira in the summer of ’23, following it up with a stoppage win over Sedriques Dumas before unexpectedly dropping to welterweight and losing a decision to Joaquin Buckley. He moved back to middleweight earlier this year with a second-round stoppage win over Eric McConico in Seattle, and looks to build on that effort here.
This profiles as a fight that is likely to produce a bonus, either for whomever registers a big finish or because these two manage to stay upright and slug it out for the entire 15 minutes. Be sure to have your snacks replenished and a beverage at the ready, because you’re not going to want to miss a second of this one once it gets underway.
Julian Erosa vs Melquizael Costa
Speaking of fights that are sure to be entertaining, Julian Erosa and Melquizael Costa both make a quick turnaround to share the Octagon together this weekend in Las Vegas.
The 35-year-old Erosa enters on a three-fight winning streak, having followed his consecutive first-round submission wins over Ricardo Ramos and Christian Rodriguez with a first-round stoppage win over Darren Elkins just over a month ago at UFC 314. Now 8-3 since touching down for his third stint on the UFC roster, the Xtreme Couture man has clearly established himself as an all-action threat in the “Second 15” of the 145-pound weight class.
Costa also arrives at the UFC APEX having won three straight, building off last year’s submission win over Shayilan Nuerdanbieke with victories over Andre Fili and Rodriguez already this year. The 28-year-old Brazilian has looked increasingly sharp and far more comfortable over his last three fights, and it will be interesting to see if he can parlay that into another strong performance here.
Erosa is allergic to being in boring fights, and Costa has never been shy about mixing things up either, so expect this to be a non-stop thrill ride for as long as it lasts.
Gabe Green vs Matheus Camilo
Saturday’s main card gets underway in the lightweight division, as Gabe Green drops down and welcomes Matheus Camilo to the Octagon for the first time.
Fighting for the first time in two years, Green drops down to the 155-pound ranks for the first time since his third professional bout, aiming to halt a two-fight skid. The Californian looked good in wins over Phil Rowe and Yohan Lainesse prior to dropping consecutive bouts to Ian Machado Garry and Bryan Battle, and will look to return to the form that produced the six straight stoppage wins that earned him a call to the UFC in the first place.
Fighting out of Xtreme Couture, Camilo is a 24-year-old Brazilian with a 9-2 record and currently riding a six-fight winning streak. He holds a submission win over DWCS alum Dorian Ramos, and should benefit from training alongside a host of experienced, talented UFC fighters as he prepares to make the walk for the first time this weekend.
Will Green celebrate his move to lightweight with a win or can Camilo keep things rolling by claiming victory in his promotional debut?
Preliminary Card Pairings
Jared Gordon vs Thiago Moises
The prelims wrap with a matchup between veteran lightweights Jared Gordon and Thiago Moises.
Gordon competes for the first time in just under a year after having his February debut scrapped after his replacement opponent was forced to withdraw at the 11th hour. Moises returns to Las Vegas looking to build on his win over Trey Ogden from earlier this year, in hopes of building some consistency after alternating results over his last several bouts.
Yadier del Valle vs Connor Matthews
Recent DWCS grad Yadier del Valle makes his first appearance inside the Octagon this weekend, stepping in with fellow Contender Series graduate Connor Matthews.
The Cuban-born, Texas-based del Valle punched his ticket to the UFC with a unanimous decision win over Antonio Monteiro last season, pushing his record to 8-0 in the process. Matthews achieved that feat the previous year in his second attempt, but has since suffered back-to-back losses to Dennis Buzukja and Jose Delgado.
Luana Santos vs Tainara Lisboa
It’s an all-Brazilian clash in the bantamweight division, as Luana Santos moves up to face off with the returning Tainara Lisboa.
After beginning her UFC tenure with three straight wins, Santos looks to get things moving in the right direction again following her UFC 305 loss to Casey O’Neill last summer in Perth. The 35-year-old Lisboa competes for the first time in nearly two years, having earned victories in each of her first two UFC starts and five straight wins overall.
Elise Reed vs Denise Gomes
Elise Reed and Denise Gomes step in against one another in a clash of strawweightslooking to build off recent successes.
Set to make her ninth appearance inside the Octagon, Reed earned a unanimous decision win over Jessica Penne last time out, maintaining her pattern of alternating results throughout her UFC tenure. Gomes rebounded from a unanimous decision loss to Angela Hill towards the end of 2023 with decision wins over Eduarda Moura and Karolina Kowalkiewicz last year to move to 4-1 over her last five fights.
HyunSung Park vs Carlos Hernandez
HyunSung Park and Carlos Hernandez face off here in a what should be a spirited flyweight fixture.
Park, who won the flyweight tournament on the first season of Road to UFC, earned a Performance of the Night bonus in his promotional debut against Shannon Ross in December 2023 to move to 9-0 overall before missing all of last year with a knee injury. A member of the DWCS Class of ’21, Hernandez has gone 3-3 over his first six UFC starts, entering Saturday’s contest off a hard-fought win over NyamjargalTumendemberel in Macau last November.
Luana Pineiro vs Tecia Pennington
Ranked flyweights open the show this weekend, as Luana Pineiro and Tecia Pennington kick things off in what should be an entertaining and competitive clash.
After stringing together three straight wins to open her UFC career, Pineiro returns to Las Vegas looking to halt a three-fight slide and secure her first win in two years. Pennington returned from a two-year absence last May, landing on the wrong side of a debated split decision verdict against Tabatha Ricci before besting Carla Esparza in the former two-time champion’s farewell appearance at UFC 307 last October.
_________________
So you wanna be a [bleeping] member? => Get access to the community <=
Looking for a seedbox? RuTorrent, qbitTorrent, Deluge and Transmission included in all packages! Unlimited torrents, unlimited transfers!
Perfect for both beginners and professionals. Watch the files directly in your browser without downloading or download to your device, up to you!
Really Fast 1 Gbit seedboxes - Professional support 24/7/365 - Click to learn more
To get a recurring 10% discount on all seedbox packages use the PROMO CODE: mmatorrents
|
UFC 315 - Muhammad vs. Della Maddalena
