UFC line-up for tonight (May 8, 2021): Who are the fighters involved in the event?
UFC has quite the packed card for the Fight Night scheduled for this Saturday. The UFC Vegas 26 card lost the main event of the evening with a week to go, as well as one half of the co-main event.
Women's strawweight veterans Marina Rodriguez and Michelle Waterson have stepped in to headline the card on short notice, and the UFC have decided to have the bout at flyweight instead.
However, with both fighters ranked among the top-ten UFC women's strawweights, the result of the contest is likely to have an impact on the 115-lbs title picture.
The co-main event at UFC Vegas 26 originally featured Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone against fellow UFC veteran Diego Sanchez. However, controversy ensued with Sanchez's coach Joshua Fabia, as has been the case for a while now and the UFC subsequently released the fighter from their roster.
Donald Cerrone will now fight Alex Morono instead, who is coming off a December 2020 loss against Anthony Pettis.
The main card of UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Waterson has four more interesting matchups. The event features a number of fights that were previously postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic or various injuries. The event itself has lost a couple of fights to injuries and other health-related issues.
Among other bouts, UFC Vegas 26 was supposed to feature former women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm against TUF 18 winner Julianna Pena. However, the former had to withdraw from the fight because of hydronephrosis.
UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Waterson - Full Card
Here is the full fight card for UFC Vegas 26 that will go down this weekend.
Main Card
Marina Rodriguez vs. Michelle Waterson (Women's flyweight) - Main Event
Donald Cerrone vs. Alex Morono (Men's welterweight) - Co-Main Event
Neil Magny vs. Geoff Neal (Men's welterweight)
Maurice Greene vs. Marcos Rogério de Lima (Men's heavyweight)
Diego Ferreira vs. Gregor Gillespie (Men's lightweight)
Amanda Ribas vs. Angela Hill (Women's strawweight)
Preliminary Card
Ben Rothwell vs. Philipe Lins (Men's heavyweight)
Phillip Hawes vs. Kyle Daukaus (Men's middleweight)
Ludovit Klein vs. Michael Trizano (Men's featherweight)
Ryan Benoit vs. Zarrukh Adashev (Men's flyweight)
Junyong Park vs. Tafon Nchukwi (Men's middleweight)
Christian Aguilera vs. Carlston Harris (Men's welterweight)