UFC Fight Night 74 aims to please fight fans in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada with a featherweight main event that pits No. 5 Max Holloway against No. 7 Charles Oliveira.
The battle between highly ranked 145-pounders isn’t the only reason to tune in. Fight fans aren’t used to watching a fight card on Sunday evening, but the UFC has put together a collection of exciting fighters that will likely end your weekend on a high note.
Here’s a look at the complete card that kicks off at 6 p.m. ET with the Fight Pass Prelims before moving to Fox Sports 1.
Fights to Watch
Maryna Moroz vs. Valerie Letourneau
Given the nebulous state of the women’s strawweight division, it doesn’t take much to build momentum as a contender. It’s why Moroz could cement her status as a future title challenger in just her second UFC appearance.
The 23-year-old Ukrainian wasted very little time in moving to 6-0 in her debut. She beat an undefeated Joanne Calderwood with an armbar in just one minute and 30 seconds, giving her five armbar finishes in six fights with four coming in the first round.
Obviously comparing Moroz to Ronda Rousey might be a little much at this stage in the game, but that doesn’t mean that the No. 8-ranked fighter doesn’t see herself earning the strap one day.
“I came to UFC to have the champion’s belt,” Moroz said per E. Spencer Kyle of The Province. “Much beads of perspiration have been shed in order for that fight will be realized as soon as possible. I want the fight with Joanna Jedrzejczyk very much (and) I will do my damnedest to realize that opportunity.”
Letourneau isn’t an easy out. The 32-year-old Canadian will be fighting in front of her home crowd and has wins over Jessica Rakoczy and Elizabeth Phillips to her name.
However, it’s been shown that acumen in the submission game can lead to a lot of success in Women’s MMA. Moroz should be able to get this one to the mat and do her thing.
Prediction: Moroz via first-round submission
Erick Silva vs. Neil Magny
If you looked at this fight and thought to yourself “Hey, I thought Neil Magny just fought recently.” He did. The 28-year-old suffered a second-round submission loss at the hands of Demian Maia on August 1.
Now he’ll face an entirely different challenge in Erick Silva. Where Maia is a savvy submission technician, Silva is a classic swarmer. Patrick Wyman broke down Silva’s style for Sherdog:
An incredibly explosive and powerful athlete, Silva is the quintessential frontrunner. This is more a result of his exceptional inefficiency than a requirement of his body type, since many other physical specimens have developed styles that preserve their energy for the later rounds. Silva throws everything into every punch, kick or knee, and he moves quickly but without regard for how much space he actually needs. He relies far too much on that speed to avoid his opponent’s strikes and defends takedowns with more explosiveness than technical skill. This works for a round, perhaps a bit more, but after that, he is essentially a sitting duck who relies on his toughness to make it to the final bell.
That style brings about a simple equation in Silva’s fights. If it goes beyond the first round, he isn’t going to win. He hasn’t won a fight in the UFC that’s gone past the first frame and doesn’t own a decision victory since 2009.
Magny‘s submission defense isn’t the best. Three of his four losses have come by some form of choke. The reality is that the explosive Silva could latch onto a choke early on and call it a day rather early.
However, if Magny can weather the early storm, the day should be his. After netting five wins during the calendar year of 2014, he’s used to remaining active in the Octagon. He shouldn’t be bothered by the short turnaround.
Expect Magny to win the second and third rounds decisively with his effective use of range after Silva does his best to end it in the first round.
Prediction: Magny via decision.
Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira
If it feels like Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira have been around forever its because they have. Despite being 23 and 25 years old respectively, they each have a ton of UFC experience. As noted by Reed Kuhn of Fightnomics:
Holloway and Oliveira are vaguely similar fighters. Obviously both have stayed busy, they have suffered some losses that have set them back and they’ve both put together win streaks that find them headlining a Fox Sports 1 card.
However, the way they go about getting those wins are a little different. Holloway is a striker with the ability to sink in a guillotine if the situation calls for it. Oliveira is a wildly entertaining submission grappler with the ability to do some damage on the feet when needed.
The problem for Do Bronx is that this situation doesn’t call for it. Holloway is the better striker. What really stands out is his defense, which helps him avoid 69 percent of strikes while landing 5.64 significant strikers per minute, according to FightMetric.
Holloway has been submitted before. Dustin Poirier handed him his first defeat via mounted triangle armbar in the first round, but that was in 2012. Holloway has come a long way and defends 78 percent of takedowns.
That kind of defense will make Holloway a hard target to track down. The Hawaiian should use his movement and striking to pick apart Oliveira enough to avoid the ground and pick up the win.
Prediction: Holloway via third-round TKO.
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