UFC Vegas 39 is set to go down later today (Sat., Oct. 9, 2021) live from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, streaming live online exclusively via ESPN+. Headlining the event will be a women’s Strawweight fight between Mackenzie Dern and Marina Rodriguez. Co-headlining the event is a Welterweight match up between Randy Brown and Jared Gooden.
What’s Hot:
Dern’s momentum inside the Octagon was halted rather quickly into her UFC career, losing in just her third fight for the promotion to Amanda Ribas, the first (and still only) loss of her mixed martial arts (MMA) career. Since then, however, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom has been on a tear, racking up four straight wins. More important, though, she has shown that she is not a one-trick pony by putting her improved striking game on display thanks to head coach Jason Parillo. Still, her bread-and-butter is her world-class ground game, winning three of her last four fights via first-round submission.
Up next for Dern is a tough match up against Rodriguez, winner of two in a row. Rodriguez is currently ranked one spot behind Dern at No. 6 and has proven to be a rising contender in the division. With an impressive record of 14-2-1, her lone loss came at the hands of former division champion, Carla Esparza. She has two draws inside the Octagon, one against Cynthia Calvillo and the other against Randa Markos, but other than that she has been on fire. She also has a knockout win over the aforementioned Ribas, the only person to ever defeat Dern and is coming off a dominant win over Michelle Waterson.
This fight will be a pivotal one for the division because the winner could very well earn a shot at the title, which is currently in the hands of Rose Namajunas. “Thug Rose” will rematch Zhang Weili at UFC 268. The only person possibly standing in their way is the aforementioned Carla Esparza, winner of five straight. That said, if the victor here doesn’t get a shot at the strap, they could, at the very least, be in line for a title eliminator fight against “Cookie Monster.”
What’s Not:
We’re heading into the final quarter of 2021 guys, so let’s ride out the remaining fight cards, which don’t look too promising, this one included. On the bright side, we have several upcoming pay-per-view (PPV) events that will more than make up for it, such as this one and this one.
Original Card Vs. Actual Card:
A fight between Deron Winn and Phil Hawes was scrapped after Winn was removed from the event for undisclosed medical reasons. Hawes was then pegged to face Chris Curtis on short notice, but that fight was also canceled after Hawes stated he was not feeling the short-notice replacement bout. Also, a fight between Jamie Pickett and Laureano Staropoli was yanked from this event and moved to a Fight Night event on Oct. 23 after one of Pickett’s coaches tested positive for COVID-19.
Injuries:
No injuries were reported for this event.
New Blood:
Lupita Godinez failed to make a splash in her UFC debut earlier this year against Jessica Penne, who handed the Mexican-born fighter the first loss of her career. She will look to get back on track when she battles Sylvia Gomez Juarez, who will be making her UFC debut on the “Prelims.” Juarez is currently riding a three-fight win streak, but despite making her MMA debut a decade ago, she only has 12 fights on her resume.
How The ‘Prelim’s Look:
Steve Garcia and Charlie Ontiveros failed to score wins in their respective debuts, but one of them will get into the win column and the other will go home with his second straight defeat (barring a draw or a “No Contest”) when they collide in the opening fight of the night.
Since making his UFC debut six years ago, Charles Rosa has failed to win-back-to-back fights…he’s also never lost two in a row inside the Octagon. With a 5-5 UFC record on his resume, Rosa will attempt to break the mold when he takes on Damon Jackson, who looks to bounce back after suffering a first-round knockout at the hands of Ilia Topuria.
Alexander Romanov has been impressive so far during his short UFC run, winning all three of his fights to improve his overall record to 14-0. He looks to remain undefeated when he takes on Jared Vanderaa. A win for Romanov could get him closer to the Top 15 in the Heavyweight division.
Chris Gutierrez will look to add to his four fight win streak when he battles Felipe Colares in an intriguing match up between two rising contenders in the Bantamweight division, which is probably the deepest weight class under the UFC banner at the moment.
To take a deeper dive at all of the undercard action click here and here.
Who Needs A Win Badly:
No one is on the chopping block since there isn’t a fighter coming in with a horrid losing streak. But, a win for Dern is critical here. She is so close to tasting her first-ever championship fight if she can earn her fifth-straight win. A loss will send her crashing back down and all the momentum she has built up to this point will vanish into thin air, making her climb back to the top that much harder.
Interest Level: 5/10
Let’s be honest, the card isn’t very good. But, we have to make do with what we have. In the co-main event, Randy Brown will face Jared Gooden in a welterweight tilt. Brown is coming off a win over Alex Oliveira and is a respectable 3-1 in his last four fights inside the Octagon. As for Gooden, he snapped his two fight losing streak by getting a big win over Niklas Stolze this past summer.
Former UFC Flyweight title contender Tim Elliott makes his return to action and will be coming in with a two-fight win streak against Matheus Nicolau. Elliott has looked great over his last two fights against Ryan Benoit and Jordan Espinoza and is looking to climb back into title contention by earning his first three fight win streak in five years. Nicolau also wants to put the rest of the division on notice by continuing his hot run, which has seen him win three straight and eight of his last nine fights. He is coming off a huge win over Manel Kape. And finally, Sabina Mazo and Mariya Agapova are both looking for a win after losing their last fights to Alexis Davis and Shana Dobson, respectfully.
There are only nine fights scheduled for today and an earlier than usual start time with all of the action kicking off at 2 p.m. ET.
Enjoy the fights!
UFC Vegas 39 Full Fight Card:
UFC Vegas 39 Main Event On ESPN+:
115 lbs.: Mackenzie Dern vs. Marina Rodriguez
UFC Vegas 39 Main Card On ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):
170 lbs.: Randy Brown vs. Jared Gooden
125 lbs.: Tim Elliott vs. Matheus Nicolau
125 lbs.: Mariya Agapova vs. Sabina Mazo
135 lbs.: Felipe Colares vs. Chris Gutierrez
UFC Vegas 39 Prelims Card On ESPN+ (2 p.m. ET):
265 lbs.: Alexander Romanov vs. Jared Vanderaa
145 lbs.: Damon Jackson vs. Charles Rosa
115 lbs.: Lupita Godinez vs. Silvana Gomez Juarez
155 lbs.: Steve Garcia vs. Charlie Ontiveros
*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change due to COVID-19.*
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