Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing more “Prelims” fights to ESPN+ this weekend (Sat., March 11, 2023) when UFC Las Vegas: “Yan vs. Dvalishvili” takes over The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg kicks of the UFC Las Vegas “Prelims” party with the first installment of a two-part undercard preview series below.
Bantamweight’s most fearsome striker meets its most prolific takedown artist this weekend when former champion Petr Yan battles streaking contender Merab Dvalishvili in the UFC Las Vegas headliner, scheduled for this Sat. night (March 11, 2023) inside The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Don’t get too excited, UFC will return to the APEX facility next month for “Pavlovich vs. Blaydes.”
UFC Las Vegas also sees heavyweight hurter Alexandr Romanov look to bounce back from his first-ever defeat at the expense of perennial contender Alexander Volkov, not long after Ricardo Ramos battles Austin Lingo at 145 pounds.
Eight “Prelims” bouts this time, all of which precede the main card, also on ESPN+.
Here’s the first batch.
125 lbs.: Ariane Lipski (14-8) vs. JJ Aldrich (11-5)
“Violence Queen” battled her way out of a two-fight skid with consecutive wins over Isabela de Padua and Luana Carolina, the latter of which earned her Performance of the Night. She’s yet to recapture that form, losing three of her last four inside the distance. She’s knocked out six pro foes and submitted another three.
Aldrich quietly worked her way through the ranks with a 7-2 run, highlighted by a dominant decision win over Gillian Robertson. Her next effort pitted her against Erin Blanchfield, who handed Aldrich her first pro submission loss since 2015 via guillotine. She stands an inch shorter than Lipski at 5’5”.
I really did want to see Lipski succeed, and I held onto hope for the longest time that she’d fix what ailed her. Getting outslugged by Priscila Cachoeira has me thinking it’s time to cut bait. That’s not to say that she can’t overpower Aldrich on the feet, just that I don’t trust her to execute against a seasoned, well-rounded striker with the wrestling to exploit Lipski’s forever weak bottom game.
My fingers are crossed that Lipski, who’s still just 29, can live up to her potential. That’s just my heart, though, and my head says Aldrich takes the path of least resistance and wrestles her way to victory.
Prediction: Aldrich by unanimous decision
135 lbs.: Victor Henry (22-6) vs. Tony Gravely (23-8)
Henry’s years of success on the Japanese circuit finally led to a UFC debut in January 2022, and “La Mangosta” made the most of the opportunity by upsetting Raoni Barcelos at UFC 270. Then came Raphael Assuncao, who handed Henry an upset defeat of his own nine months later. He’s the taller man by two inches but faces a one-inch reach disadvantage.
Gravely rebounded from his Fight of the Night UFC debut loss to Brett Johns with wins in four of his next five, including a bonus-winning knockout of Anthony Birchak. He managed to win the first round against fast-rising prospect Javid Basharat last time out, but ultimately found himself outworked down the stretch for his third Octagon defeat. 10 of his 13 pro stoppage wins have come by knockout.
As with most of his fights, Gravely has the tools to win comfortably. He’s a fair bit faster and more powerful than Henry on the feet and boasts a much superior wrestling pedigree. The question is how long Gravely can keep it together; he’s faded late and thrown away winnable fights before, which is a bad habit to have against someone as durable, seasoned, and persistent as Henry.
I’m leaning Henry’s way, though just barely. His takedown defense held up fairly well against Barcelos and he’s skilled enough off of his back to at least make Gravely spend vital calories trying to hold him down. The tide turns right around the middle of the second round, allowing Henry’s volume to take over late and secure a narrow win.
Prediction: Henry by split decision
125 lbs.: Tyson Nam (21-12-1) vs. Bruno Silva (12-5-2)
Nam’s two-fight knockout streak came to an end at the hands of Matt Schnell, who edged out a split decision in January 2021. A nearly 19-month layoff followed, which Nam ended in dramatic fashion with a one-punch Performance of the Night knockout of Ode Osbourne. All but one of his 14 pro finishes have come by (T)KO..
Silva, a former TUF: Brazil 4 competitor, struggled his way to an 0-2 (1 NC) UFC start. Subsequent efforts proved more fruitful, as he knocked out JP Buys and Victor Rodriguez for back-to-back bonuses. He fights for the first time in almost 22 months.
We all know the Tyson Nam script at this point. He is, at 39 years old, the same Tyson Nam he’s always been: heavy-handed, durable, difficult to take down, and disinclined to throw more punches than the absolute minimum needed to render his opponent unconscious. Fighting him is a test of composure more than anything else; he won’t make his own opportunities, but you’d damn well better not give him any.
I think Silva’s up to the task. He’s stood up to heavy hitters before and offers enough variety in his striking and grappling to keep Nam from lining up a counter. He walks the tightrope well enough to outwork Nam for a comfortable decision win.
Prediction: Silva by unanimous decision
170 lbs.: Carlston Harris (17-5) vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov (17-3-1)
Harris followed his shock upset of Saygid Izagakhmaev with first-round UFC finishes of Christian Aguilera and Impa Kasanganay. He then signed to face Shavkat Rakhmonov, who put “Moambique” away with a wheel kick late in the first. He’s knocked out and submitted five pro foes apiece.
Nurmagomedov’s lengthy stint in WSOF/PFL came to an end in October 2018 when he battled UFC veteran Bojan Velickovic to a draw. He’s fought just three times since, most recently out-dueling Gadzhi Omargadzhiev at UFC 280. He gives up four inches of reach to Harris.
Lots of fun storylines here, from Nurmagomedov trying to avenge Izagakhmaev to the general stylistic clash between Nurmagomedov’s increasingly polished overall game and Harris’ semi-improvisational violence. Though I genuinely believe Nurmagomedov has improved considerably during his time in the Octagon, I’m still leaning towards Harris; he’s by far the better finisher, can hold his own in the grappling, and packs enough power to make up for his technical deficiencies on the feet.
Nurmagomedov might have what it takes to walk the tightrope against Harris, but between Harris’ ability to end a fight out of nowhere and his success against a very similar fighter in Izagakhmaev, odds are he’ll find Nurmagomedov’s neck before too terribly long.
Prediction: Harris by first-round submission
Four fights to go, including two UFC debuts from a pair of “Contender Series” standouts.
Same time tomorrow, Maniacs.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Las Vegas fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN+) at 6 p.m. ET.
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