Petr Yan Looks to Hold Off Hard-Charging Deiveson Figueiredo

If Petr Yan retired tomorrow, his career would be hard to summarize. Yan reached the top of the mountain when he knocked out Jose Aldo to win the bantamweight title at UFC 251 in July 2020. But the MMAfighting latest news reflects that everything that has happened to Yan since then has been nightmarish.

Yan lost the title at UFC 259 when he was disqualified for an illegal knee. Following that loss, Yan lost three of his next four fights. Last March, Yan, who is ranked third in the bantamweight division, finally got back in the win column when he won a narrow decision against Song Yadong.

The question is whether Yan’s fighting style is conducive to winning big fights. Yan typically starts slow and will often lose a round early in the fight. Deiveson Figueiredo, the former flyweight champion, will want to take advantage of this.Figueiredo is a more powerful striker than Yan and has looked good at bantamweight. He chose to move up after losing a fight to Brandon Moreno at UFC 283. Figueiredo will need to pick up his output to beat Yan.

Bets to consider: Over 3.5 rounds, Yan by decision

Is Ricci a Championship Contender?

MMA news websites are still split on Tabatha Ricci. During Ricci’s career, she has never quite been able to get her strong ground game going. Most of Ricci’s fights end up spending most of the time on the feet.

Being involved in a lot of high-volume striking affairs can lead to a lot of variance in the women’s division. Ricci has seen two of her past three fights go to split decision.

Ricci doesn’t seem to have enough power to swing judges. Now, Ricci will be taking on second-ranked Yan Xiaonan. Yan has won 18 fights during her career and has shown the ability to finish fights. Yan is looking to bounce back from losing to countrywoman Zhang Weili during her last fight.

This should be another striking-heavy fight. It’s hard to imagine this one will end inside the distance. Expect the possibility of needing to sweat while the scorecards are being read if you choose to bet on this fight.

Bets to consider: Fight to go the distance, Yan by decision

Salikhov Ready for Another Tough Matchup

Song Kenan is happy to be fighting in his home nation again. After a busy 2023, Song peeled back his schedule this year and has only taken on one fight this year. Song hasn’t been in the best form over the past few years. He has lost three of his past five fights. Song has been knocked out four times in his career, including twice during his past five fights. There should be an opportunity for him to produce a memorable result against Muslim Salikhov.

Salikhov is a unique striker who is willing to mix disciplines and creates wild openings against many of his opponents. Salikhov has 13 wins by knockout in his career.

Bets to consider: Under 2.5 rounds, Salikhov by KO/TKO/DQ

Wang Cong Made Memorable Splash

There were a lot of high expectations for Wang Cong when she made her debut last August. Wang was a big favorite over Victoria Leonardo and made sure to deliver. She knocked Leonardo out in 62 seconds.

Wang was initially stunned that she didn’t get a bonus for her performance. She was later granted a $50,000 bonus from UFC CEO Dana White. Now, Wang is in a difficult situation.

She needs to try and repeat her performance against Gabriella Fernandes. Fernandes has been having a hard time since joining the UFC and has dropped two of the last three fights.

Don’t expect this one to be different.

Bets to consider: Wang by KO/TKO/DQ, Under 2.5 rounds

Oezdemir Has A lot of Momentum

Volkan Oezdemir may have finally pulled himself out of the doldrums. Oezdemir has back-to-back wins by finish over younger competitors. During Oezdemir’s last fight, he flattened Johnny Walker in the first round.

The 35-year-old Swiss fighter and former title challenger will need to lean on his power again against an interesting challenger. Carlos Ulberg is the favorite in their light heavyweight fight this weekend. Ulberg doesn’t have as much experience but has showcased tremendous power.

Ulberg has won six straight fights, and the last five were by decision. During Ulberg’s last fight, he benefited from having Alonzo Menifield rush straight at him. Oezdemir should be more careful.

This will be a fun fight. I may be overreacting to Oezdemir’s strong performances he put together in the past few fights, but I think a flier on the veteran is worth a wager. Ulberg is a powerful striker who has racked up impressive KOs and will always be a threat to end things with just one or two punches.

Bets to consider: Oezdemir by KO/TKO/DQ, Under 1.5 rounds, Fight to end by knockout

Road to UFC Finals Will Take Place

Four of the fights on the preliminary finals will be the Road to UFC Season 3. Be careful betting on these fights. Most of these fighters have mostly fought on the regional scene, and it is hard to figure out where they are in terms of their development.

Here are the rest of the fights on the card not mentioned above:

Light heavyweight, Zhang Mingyang (-310) vs Ozzy Diaz (+250)

Bantamweight, Su Young You (-148) vs Baergeng Jieleyisi (+124)

Flyweight, Kiru Singh Sahota (-105) vs Dong Hoon Choi (-115)

Women’s Strawweight, Ming Shi (+260) vs Xiaocan Feng (-325)

Flyweight, Nyamjargal Tumendemberel (+164) vs Carlos Hernandez (-198)

Flyweight, Lone’er Kavanagh (-375) vs Jose Ochoa (+295)

Bantamweight, Long Xiao (-125) vs Quan Le (+105)

Lightweight, Maheshate Hayisaer (-198) vs Nikolas Motta (+164)

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By Dean McHugh.