Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns later TONIGHT (Sat., July 15, 2023) with UFC Vegas 77, which is set to go down inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring a women’s Bantamweight fight between Holly Holm vs. Mayra Bueno Silva. In the co-main event, Jack Della Maddalena will take on Bassil Hafez in a Welterweight affair.
What’s Hot:
Holm is coming off a win over Yana Santos just four months ago, so it’s nice to see her make a quick turnaround here at Bantamweight. With five title fights inside the Octagon under her belt, “The Preacher’s Daughter” will attempt to make her case for a sixth when she battles Mayra Bueno Silva. The Brazilian finisher is currently on a three-fight win streak and has a huge chance to score the biggest win of her professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career, which will really boost her stock after flying under the radar for the past five years.
Holm obviously has the advantage over pretty much anyone in the division if the fight stays standing, so Silva will have to watch those haymakers straight away and turn this into a grappling match as soon as possible. With seven of her wins coming via submission, that is the best path to victory for the Brazilian bomber. That said, Holm has only been submitted once in her MMA career, so getting her to tap is no easy task. If she can keep the distance and keep the fight standing, we can expect Holm to pick her shots carefully and jab her way to victory, which won’t be a feast for the eyes. There is always a chance for a knockout when it comes to the former boxing champion, but Silva has managed to avoid that fate in her near decade-long combat career. Plus, Holm hasn’t slept anyone in more than six years.
With Amanda Nunes retiring, it leaves both the 135- and 145-pound belts vacant, so Holm (No. 3) and Bueno Silva (No. 10) will attempt to make their respective cases to fight for it, even though the current front-runners are Julianna Pena and Raquel Pennington. Nevertheless, the winner here could get next after that.
What’s Not:
I could just post this great article by our very own Patrick L. Stumberg to explain the reason(s) this card is absolutely not it, but that’s not what I get paid to do. But, please, do give it a read. We’ve gone over it time and time again, the fact that the promotion has to put on a certain amount of events as part of its deal with ESPN has, without a doubt, watered down the product. Every week there’s a card — or at least that will be the case from here until the end of October — so not all of them will be home runs. UFC 290 blew away all of our expectations last week, so we can’t expect the promotion to fill a “Fight Night” event with big names as a follow up. That said, ESPN’s deal runs out in 2025, and if UFC doesn’t re-up with the “Worldwide Leader In Sports,” things may change with a new partner to where the promotion’s isn’t obligated to stage an event seemingly every single weekend.
Original Card Vs. Actual Card:
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Vicente Luque was originally pegged to headline the event before the fight was postponed for a later date, making way for Holm and Silva to pull headlining duties. Furthermore, a fight between Walt Harris and John Parisian was scrapped after “Big Ticket” failed a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) test for “being a complete idiot.” Jafel Filho and Juancamilo Ronderos were expected to face off at this event before it was yanked for undisclosed reasons.
Injuries:
No injuries reported for this event.
New Blood:
Viktoriya Dudakova will bring her undefeated (6-0) record to the Octagon for the first time after making an impression on Contender Series back in Aug. 2022 with a unanimous decision win over Maria Silva. She will face off against Istela Nunes, who is currently on a three-fight losing streak (all inside the Octagon).
Azut Maksum will bring his perfect (16-0) record with him to his first UFC fight when he squares up against Tyson Nam in a Flyweight bout. Of his 16 wins, Maksum has scored seven submission and five knockouts, so the finish percentage is strong with this one. But, despite going 1-2 in his last three fights, Nam is still a dangerous out for the newcomer because he comes with a ton of experience and a well-rounded skill-set.
Hafez, meanwhile, got the opportunity of a lifetime to co-headline the event against Jack Della Maddalena in the co-main event of the evening. Hafez is on a two-fight win streak and is coming off a first-round knockout win over Evan Cutts under the Fury FC banner. As for Maddalena, him lobbying to get a fight before leaving Las Vegas worked after he had two opponents bow out of UFC 290 last week. It’s a tough first fight for Hafez, but it is also a great opportunity. That’s because Maddalena is one of the hottest Welterweights in the sport at the moment, and is on a 14-fight win streak, including winning his first four fights under the UFC banner. If Hafez can pull off the upset, he can crash the party at 170 pounds straight away.
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Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
How The ‘Prelims’ Look:
In the women’s Bantamweight division, Ashlee Evans-Smith and Ailin Perez will throw down in a battle of two fighters coming off losses. Smith is actually on a two-fight losing streak and is just 1-4 in her last five fights, so she needs a win pretty badly here. As for Perez, she is coming off a loss to Stephanie Egger, which was her Octagon debut. She needs a better showing in her sophomore effort.
In the Lightweight division, Alex Munoz looks to earn his first win under the UFC banner after suffering back-to-back defeats at the hands of Nasrat Haqparast and Luis Pena. Prior to that, he started off his UFC career at 6-0, including a win over Nick Newell. He will look to get back on track when he takes on Carl Deaton, who lost to Joe Solecki in his UFC debut earlier this year.
Let’s keep with the theme of struggling fighters for this card because both Evan Elder and Genaro Valdez are coming into their fight on two-fight losing streaks. The good news is that the tides have to turn for one of them, unless the fight somehow ends in a draw, obviously.
Melquizael Costa threw up a dud in his UFC debut after he was submitted by Thiago Moises (face crank) in January. His opponent today, Austin Lingo, is coming off a loss to Nate Landwehr, so both men need to get back into the win column.
It’s ridiculous that every fighter on the undercard — other than two newcomers — are coming off losses. That is once again the case with Tucker Lutz and Melsik Baghdasaryan ahead of their Featherweight bout, which will headline the undercard. “Top Gun” has actually lost two straight, so another loss could mark the end of the road for him, as far as UFC goes.
Who Needs A Win Badly:
As I mentioned earlier, Nunes has had a tough run so far inside the Octagon, losing her first three fights in 13 months. She was stopped in two of those fights, once via knockout and once by submission. All told, she is just 1-4 in her last five dating back to her time under the ONE banner. Should she lose to UFC newcomer, Viktoriya Dudakova, I don’t expect the promotion to keep her around much longer.
Interest Level: 4/10
Ottman Azaitar suffered the first loss of his professional career in his last fight at the hands of Matt Frevola via knockout in the first round, so “Bulldozer” will come in hungry to taste victory again. His opponent, Francisco Prado, is coming off a tough loss to Jaime Mullarkey in his UFC debut. Prior to that, Prado was 11-0, so the man knows how to rack up the wins. Did I mention that all of his 11 victories have come by way of stoppage? Yeah, he is must-see television.
Jung Yong Park has really found his groove in the stacked Middleweight division, winning his last three fights, going 6-1 overall in his last seven. He is making great strides up the 185-pound ladder, and he has another tough foe in from of him in Albert Duraev, who is coming off a split decision win over Chidi Njokuani. Aside from his loss to Joaquin Buckley, Duraev had been undefeated since 2015. This is a great matchup that could steal the show.
In the Featherweight division, Chelsea Chandler and Norma Dumont will try to help the division’s cause when it comes time for the higher-ups to decide whether or not they will let it continue into the new year. Dumont is on a two-fight win streak and is 5-1 in her last six fights, while Chandler made a successful UFC debut by defeating Julija Stoliarenko last October. Every fight counts in this division since there are very few actual female Featherweights, so this is a big one for them.
Terrance McKinney caught the attention of everyone early on in his UFC career thanks to a couple of first round knockout wins, including a seven-second finish of Matt Frevola (see it again here). But, he has been unable to continue with the success because he is just 1-2 since, getting knocked out in both losses. He hopes to right his ship against Nazim Sadykhov, who is smoking hot at the moment with eight straight wins. In his first fight inside the Octagon, he knocked out Evan Elder this past February. It’s a great fight between two young, up-and-coming contenders with a high probability of delivering a highlight reel finish.
Enjoy the fights!
Full UFC Vegas 77 Fight Card:
UFC Vegas 77 Main Event On ESPN/ESPN+:
135 lbs.: Holly Holm vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
UFC Vegas 77 Main Card On ESPN/ESPN+ (10 p.m. ET):
170 lbs.: Jack Della Maddalena vs. Bassil Hafez (details here)
155 lbs.: Ottman Azaitar vs. Francisco Prado265 lbs.:Walt Harrisvs.Josh Parisian— SCRATCHED (full details here)
185 lbs.: Albert Duraev vs. Junyong Park
145 lbs.: Chelsea Chandler vs. Norma Dumont
155 lbs.: Terrance McKinney vs. Nazim Sadykhov
UFC Vegas 77 ‘Prelims’ Card On ESPN/ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):
145 lbs.: Tucker Lutz vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
115 lbs.: Viktoriya Dudakova vs. Istela Nunes
145 lbs.: Melquizael Costa vs. Austin Lingo
155 lbs.: Evan Elder vs. Genaro Valdez
125 lbs.: Azat Maksum vs. Tyson Nam
155 lbs.: Carl Deaton vs. Alexander Munoz
135 lbs.: Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Ailin Perez
*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 77 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN/ESPN+) at 10 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 77: “Holm vs. Bueno Silva” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.