UFC Vegas 72 “Yadong Vs Simon” + Weekly MMA News
The last MMA weekend was stacked with high-level bouts. UFC Vegas 71 didn’t look too promising, but the main event of the evening turned into a one-sided beatdown.
What Happened At UFC Vegas 71?
Sergey Pavlovich destroyed Curtis Blaydes with a violent barrage of punches in the first round to win the Performance of the Night Award. His next opponent will probably be the winner of the 265-pound title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.
SERGEI PAVLOVICH DOES IT AGAIN 😱 ANOTHER FIRST ROUND KO! #UFCVegas71 pic.twitter.com/xwfCxf8u7M
— UFC (@ufc) April 23, 2023
Three more fighters earned Performance of the Night awards and cashed an extra 50,000$ – Bruno Silva, Montel Jackson, and Christos Giagos.
Bruno Silva destroyed his opponent with a flurry of punches, while Christos Giagos got the job done with one big left. Montel Jackson floored Rani Yahya with a vicious punch counter. Check the highlights below.
BRUNO SILVA FLOORS TAVARES 😱
Huge win for Silva in our #UFCVegas71 co-main!! pic.twitter.com/7kCA04ewX2
— UFC (@ufc) April 23, 2023
That left landed FLUSH 🎯 #UFCVegas71 pic.twitter.com/kpx2yEck7F
— UFC (@ufc) April 22, 2023
Those @Montello135 hands are QUICK 👊 #UFCVegas71 pic.twitter.com/2JA3im5cXI
— UFC (@ufc) April 22, 2023
Bellator 294/295 Best Moments
DeAnna Bennett was up on the scorecards against Liz Carmouche, but “The Girrilla” stopped her with a submission in the fourth round to defend the 125-pound division belt.
4️⃣ submissions at #Bellator294 but which was your favorite? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Kj7chrsSi4
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 24, 2023
Patchy Mix pulled out a massive upset in the main event of Bellator 295. Patchy turned the lights out on Stots with a big knee in the early stages of the fight to win the division interim belt and Bellator Bantamweight Grand Prix.
OUT COLD! 😱@TeamMixMMA KNOCKS OUT @RaufeonStots to win the #BellatorBWGP $1,000,000 crown.#Bellator295 | LIVE NOW | @SHOsports pic.twitter.com/l0smOYG2yr
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 23, 2023
UFC Vegas 72 Annoucement
The greatest MMA promotion stays in the “Sin City” for another event on Saturday, April 29th, 2023. It will kick off at 4 PM ET, while the main card gets underway at 7 PM ET. You can watch it on ESPN+/ESPN 2 or UFC on Fight Pass, depending on your geolocation.
Image source: @UFCBrasil Twitter
Last week, the main event of UFC Vegas 72 suffered a massive blow, as Arman Tsarukyan was forced to withdraw from the fight against Arman Tsarukyan. So the promotion moved Song Yadong vs Ricky Simon from UFC Vegas 71 co-main to the main event of UFC Vegas 72.
Ricky Simon vs Song Yadong headlines the upcoming UFC event. Ricky Simon is one of the best wrestlers in the UFC’s 135-pound division. He’s known for great takedowns, amazing ground control, toughness, and solid boxing.
His opponent Song Yadong is one of the greatest cardio machines in the division. After the draw against Cody Stamann, Yadong improved his stamina significantly. Now he can grapple, wrestle, or strike for 5 rounds without slowing down. This is a tricky fight to predict, these guys are ready to trade violent shots for 25 minutes.
Prediction: over 2.5 rounds
In the co-main, the Brazilian submission wrestling specialist Caio Borralho will square off against the Polish knockout machine Michal Oleksiejczuk. Borralho outworked three big names in his last three outings – Makhmud Muradov, Armen Petrosyan, and Gadzhi Omargadzhiev. Oleksiejczuk lives his dream since dropping to 185. He destroyed Sam Alvey and Cody Brundage in his last two matches.
Oleksiejczuk will try to turn the lights out on the Brazilian with his powerful left hand, but if Borralho drags him to the ground, it’s all over.
Prediction: the fight will not go the distance
UFC Vegas 72 Full Fight Card
Please take a look at the upcoming event’s full fight card below.
Main Card (ESPN+/ESPN 2, UFC on Fight Pass, 4 PM ET, 9 PM UK time)
Bantamweight: Yadong Song (19-7-1) vs. Ricky Simón (20-3-0)
Middleweight: Caio Borralho (13-1-0) vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk (18-5-0)
Middleweight: Cody Brundage (8-3-0) vs. Rodolfo Vieira (8-2-0)
Featherweight: Julian Erosa (28-10-0) vs. Fernando Padilla (14-4-0)
Heavyweight: Waldo Cortes-Acosta (9-0-0) vs. Marcos Rogério de Lima (20-8-1)
Heavyweight: Martin Buday (11-1-0) vs. Jake Collier (13-8-0)
Preliminary Card (ESPN+/ESPN 2, UFC on Fight Pass, 7 PM ET, midnight UK time)
Lightweight: Natan Levy (8-1-0) vs. Pete Rodriguez (5-1-0)
Flyweight: Cody Durden (14-4-1) vs. Charles Johnson (13-4-0)
Welterweight: Josh Quinlan (6-0-0) vs. Trey Waters (7-1-0)
Bantamweight: Stephanie Egger (8-3-0) vs. Irina Alekseeva (4-1-0)
Bantamweight: Brian Kelleher (24-14-0) vs. Journey Newson (10-4-0)
Bantamweight: Hailey Cowan (7-2-0) vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth (5-0-0)
UFC Vegas 72 Predictions
Check out my predictions for the upcoming event below. You can see a detailed breakdown for every single fight.
UFC Vegas 72 doesn’t look too promising. There aren’t stars on this card, but give this event a shot, you never know. We might witness some nice combats!
[…] UFC Vegas 72 looked like a dull card on a piece of paper, but we’ve seen many stoppages and nice finishes. […]