Ahead of UFC Vegas 72, we take a look at the odds, and predictions for the main card
Saturday’s UFC APEX event could be a good illustration of how one person’s misery can allow another to shine. After the original main event between lightweight contenders Armen Tsarukuyan and Renato Moicano was forced to be postponed due to Moicano’s injury, the bout between bantamweight talents Song Yadong and Ricky Simon was pushed up to take centre stage this weekend.
The second consecutive event at the UFC’s in-house arena gives Song and Simon a chance to steal the show, while also giving several debuting talents, a collection of Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) graduates, and a slew of aspiring competitors a chance to make a statement that will propel them to bigger matchups and greater prominence in the second half of the year. We take a deep look at the fights that will take place inside the Octagon this weekend.
Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon
On Saturday, a pivotal bout between two of the world’s best bantamweights, Song Yadong and Ricky Simon, will take place where it was originally scheduled to go down last weekend.
As a 25-year-old with a tonne of experience and a certain spot in the Top 10 of the stacked bantamweight division, Song is a man in between worlds. After losing to Cory Sandhagen last weekend, a fight in which he was competitive until a cut forced him to stop, he enters this weekend’s bout looking to reaffirm his status as one of the top young stars in the dangerous 135-pound ranks with a victory.
With an 8-2 record inside the Octagon and a current five-fight winning streak, Simon flies into Las Vegas as the division’s No. 10 contender. Two of his last four fights have ended in a draw, and he defeated Jack Shore for the first time in his career in July.
Unlike the main event, this fight doesn’t have any bearing on the championship picture, but it does feature a fascinating matchup between two competitors who both hope to become champion in the future. It will be interesting to watch if Simon, at age 30, can exploit his increased sense of urgency to propel him to victory, or if Song, at age 20, can fend him off and maintain his position at the top.
Odds: Yadong Song -105 vs -115 Ricky Simon
Our Prediction: Ricky Simon is on a roll currently and has showcased a well-rounded approach in recent fights. Song faces a mammoth task against Simon considering he lost his last fight. We expect Simon to emerge victorious via submission.
Other important fights
In the evening’s co-main event, rising middleweights Caio Borralho and Michal Oleksiejczuk will meet.
Borralho won two bouts on DWCS Season 5 to earn a contract with the UFC, and he went on to sweep his first three battles in the promotion. A member of the Fighting Nerds, “Natural” is 30 years old, has fought 13 times, is currently on a 10-fight winning streak, and is undefeated in his last 13.
Polish fighter Oleksiejczuk started out 2018 still competing at light heavyweight, but after a loss to Dustin Jacoby at UFC 272, he dropped down to the 185-pound division. The 28-year-old boxer stopped both Sam Alvey and Cody Brundage in the first round of their respective fights in his first two middleweight appearances.
In what appears to be a “grappler versus striker” contest, Borralho will try to close the distance, clinch, and wrestle, while Oleksiejczuk will do his best to keep distance and unleash his hands. Whichever individual is better at carrying out his strategy is the one who will likely keep winning and go further in his division.
Rodolfo Vieira, a Brazilian jiu jitsu world champion, and Cody Brundage, a former Division I wrestler, will square off at middleweight in another featured bout on the main card.
Beginning his mixed martial arts career with five straight victories, Vieira quickly earned a spot in the UFC and continued his winning ways with victory in his first two appearances in the Octagon. The 33-year-old has a 1-2 record since then, with losses to Anthony Hernandez and Chris Curtis sandwiching a hard-fought victory over Dustin Stoltzfus.
Brundage got his foot in the door with the UFC with a last-minute bout against Nick Maximov, and after first-round victories over Dalcha Lungiambula and Tresean Gore, the Factory X fighter was looking good heading into the last month of 2017. His momentum was halted by the loss against Oleksiejczuk, but a win over Vieira and more success for “Hussar” later in the evening would do much to restore his standing.
Julian Erosa, a UFC veteran and featherweight, returns to his adoptive homeland of Las Vegas this weekend to welcome Fernando Padilla to the organisation. After suffering a disappointing first-round loss to Alex Caceres in his most recent outing, “Juicy J” is eager to get back into the victory column. Padilla, who has a record of 14-4, returns to the ring for the first time in nearly two years after winning four of his last five bouts, including a second-round knockout victory in front of the Lookin’ for a Fight crew.
UFC Vegas 72 Odds
Yadong Song -105 vs -115 Ricky Simon
Caio Borralho -360 vs +295 Michal Oleksiejczuk
Rodolfo Vieira -240 vs +200 Cody Brundage
Julian Erosa -145 vs +125 Fernando Padilla
Marcos Rogerio De Lima -180 vs +155 Waldo Cortes-Acosta
UFC Vegas 72 Preliminary Card Odds
Heavyweight
Martin Buday (11-1-0) v. Jake Collier (13-8-0)
Vegas Odds: Buday (-105), Collier (-115)
Flyweight
Cody Durden (14-4-1) v. Charles Johnson (13-4-0)
Vegas Odds: Durden (+120), Johnson (-145)
Welterweight
Josh Quinlan (6-0-0, 1NC) v. Trey Waters (7-1-0)
Vegas Odds: Quinlan (-160), Waters (+160)
Women’s Bantamweight
Stephanie Egger (8-3-0) v. Irina Alekseeva (4-1-0)
Vegas Odds: Egger (-300), Alekseeva (+240)
Bantamweight
Brian Kelleher (24-14-0) v. Journey Newson (10-4-0, 1NC)
Vegas Odds: Kelleher (-140), Newson (+115)
Women’s Bantamweight
Hailey Cowan (7-2-0) v. Jamey-Lyn Horth (5-0-0)
Vegas Odds: Cowan (+115), Horth (-140)
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