UFC Vegas 55 “Holm Vs Vieira” + Weekly MMA Report
UFC on ESPN 36 didn’t have many big names on the card, but we’ve witnessed excellent battles. Unfortunately, Aleksandar Rakic was up on the scorecards but he had to quit due to a bad knee injury in the third round, so Blachowicz won the main event battle via TKO (retirement).
Rakic's knee gives out resulting in a victory for Blachowicz #UFCVegas54 pic.twitter.com/7pt2dQa9Jn
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 15, 2022
Katlyn Chookagian Vs Amanda Ribas was the most entertaining fight on the card. Dana White noticed the great sides of the 125-pound female scrap and awarded both fighters with an additional 50k.
The other two Performance of the Night awards went in the hands of Ryan Spann and Manuel Torres. Spann surprisingly finished Moldovan submission expert Ion Cutelaba with a first-round guillotine choke, while the Mexican newcomer turned the lights out on Frank Camacho after a top-notch slugfest.
Superman defeats The Hulk 🦸♂️ #UFCVegas54 pic.twitter.com/uwYhmTCa6n
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 15, 2022
El Loco with some serious power 👊 #UFCVegas54 pic.twitter.com/qZmdG3uxQx
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 15, 2022
The main event of Bellator 281 was ok for die-hard fans of clinching and control, as Logan Storley outwrestled Michael Page in a five-round affair for a questionable split decision win.
In the co-main event, Fabian Edwards destroyed the former UFC 205-pound vet Lyoto Machida with powerful left hands.
𝑳𝒆𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝑲𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂 💥@fabianedwards24 stops MMA veteran @lyotomachidafw at the @OVOArena.#Bellator281 LIVE on @SHOsports 🇺🇸 and @bbcthree 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/H6Ha0DfgAH
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) May 13, 2022
This weekend, UFC stays at “Sin City”, Nevada, but the bouts will kick off at a different time. The card is set to start on Saturday, May 21st, 2022, at 4 PM ET. UFC Apex is the venue, you can watch on UFC on Fight Pass or ESPN+, depending on your geolocation.
Image source: official @ufc Twitter
The main event brings a long-time awaited five-round bantamweight scrap between the former division champ, Jackson Wink’s pride Holly Holm and tough Muay Thai specialist Ketlen Vieira. Per Mike Winkeljohn
Holly Holm enjoys spending endless hours in the gym and working hard every single day. On the other hand, Ketlen Viera’s cardio is on a great level, this should be a lovely five-rounder.
Prediction: the fight goes the distance (-230)
If you like the clash of styles, you’ll enjoy the co-main event of the evening. The Brazilian Capoeira fighter Michel Pereira meets the all-time greatest Argentinian mixed martial artist Santiago Ponzinibbio.
Pereira is known for unorthodox techniques and enormous explosivity, but “Ponzi” is also very unpredictable. He hits hard and doesn’t move too much. Pereira should keep his hands up, or we might see a knockout as the Brazilian leaves himself open too often.
Prediction: the fight will not go the distance (+110)
You can take a look at the card here, but there is a possibility of last-minute changes.
https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/86509-ufc-fight-night
Main Card (7 PM ET, midnight UK time)
Bantamweight: Holly Holm (14-5) vs. Ketlen Vieira (12-2)
Welterweight: Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-5) vs. Michel Pereira (27-11)
Middleweight: Chidi Njokuani (21-7) vs. Duško Todorović (11-2)
Strawweight: Polyana Viana (12-4) vs. Tabatha Ricci (6-1)
Middleweight: Eryk Anders (14-6) vs. Jun Yong Park (13-5)
Prelims (4 PM ET, 9 PM UK time)
Middleweight: Joseph Holmes (7-2) vs. Alen Amedovski (8-2)
Heavyweight: Parker Porter (13-6) vs. Jailton Almeida (15-2)
Lightweight: Omar Morales (11-2) vs. Uros Medic (7-1)
Bantamweight: Jonathan Martinez (15-4) vs. Vince Morales (11-5)
Featherweight: Chase Hooper (10-2-1) vs. Felipe Colares (10-3)
Strawweight: Elise Reed (5-1) vs. Sam Hughes (6-4)
Check my predictions for the upcoming card:
There aren’t many big names here. But fewer stars on the card mean more newcomers and young guns, which should lead to dynamic, fun fights. So let’s expect another great weekend!
[…] UFC Vegas 55 was a decent card to watch. Holly Holm outstruck, out-grappled, and out-controlled Ketlen Vieira, yet, judges gave a controversial split decision victory to the Brazilian contender. Was this decision unfair? Well, you can take a look at the stats below! […]