UFC Vegas 31: 5 names to look out for
Another Saturday of UFC action is nearly upon us and another exciting card is all ready to go. This week’s event sees a return to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The UFC welcomed back another full crowd at UFC 264 last weekend. A 20,000+ strong audience enjoyed live action at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the first time since last March. The event marked the fourth to be held in front of a full crowd since the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. As with the last three pay-per-views, the event delivered some memorable moments.
Understandably, fans are looking ahead to the next event with fans and another exciting looking PPV that includes a blockbuster interim heavyweight title fight between Ciryl Gane and Derrick Lewis, but the Apex isn’t finished providing us with great matchups just yet and this week’s headliner sees a great battle of lightweight contenders.
UFC Vegas 31: Islam Makhachev vs. Thiago Moises
After the cancelation of Yair Rodriguez's return fight against former featherweight champion Max Holloway, the matchup between Islam Makhachev and Thiago Moises was bumped up from a three-round co-main event to the headlining spot.
The Dagestani will look to continue his rise in the UFC by extending his dominant winning streak to eight with a victory over the Brazilian. Meanwhile, Moises will look to enhance his reputation as one of the division's top prospects by springing an upset against the 29-year-old. Elsewhere on the card, former UFC women's bantamweight champion Miesha Tate makes her return to action, Jeremy Stephens looks to derail the Mateusz Gamrot hype train, and the likes of Daniel Rodriguez, Billy Quarantillo and Miles John are all set to feature.
The card has the potential to be a highly entertaining watch. With that said, here are five names to look out for at UFC Vegas 31.
#5. Rodrigo Nascimento - UFC heavyweight
UFC vegas 31 this weekend will see an octagon-shaking heavyweight bout go down between Brazil's Rodrigo Nascimento and France's Alan Baudot. Nascimento is a promising prospect out of American Top Team and boasts an impressive career so far.
After building a perfect 5-0 record that included five finishes, four of which came in the very first round, 'Ze Colmeia' registered his sixth victory during an appearance on Dana White's Contender Series. In a fashion that had become familiar to him, Nascimento earned a UFC contract after securing another first-round submission victory.
After forcing another opponent to submit in his promotional debut against Don'Tale Mayes at UFC on ESPN 8 last May, Nascimento looked to be on track for a rapid rise in the division. But a knockout loss inside 45 seconds against Chris Daukaus last October saw him fall to his first MMA loss and stalled his heavyweight surge.
Against Baudot, who lost to rising star Tom Aspinall last time out, Nascimento will be looking to re-enter the win column and begin climbing up the heavyweight ladder again. With eight finishes in his eight victories, he is certainly one to watch this weekend. If you're looking to gamble on a fight not going the distance, there isn't a safer choice than this matchup.