Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back at it once again to stage UFC Vegas 13, which goes down later tonight (Sat., Nov. 7, 2020) inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring a Light Heavyweight tilt between former title contenders Thiago Santos and Glover Teixeira. In the co-headlining act, Andrei Arlovski takes on Tanner Boser in Heavyweight action.
What’s Hot:
Now that Jon Jones is no longer the Light Heavyweight champion, the path to become the UFC 205-pound king is a bit less treacherous. Jan Blachowicz is now the champion, which means contenders have one less hurdle to leap over to get to the big dance. And that bodes well for both Teixeira and Santos, who will throw down in “Sin City” for what is likely a No. 1 contender’s bout. The only problem is, Israel Adesanya — the promotion’s Middleweight champion — will get the next shot at Jan’s belt sometime in 2021. No fret, I’m sure Santos and Teixeira are willing to play the waiting game to get another crack at gold.
On paper, the match up is great. Both men can crack hard, both have submission skills for days and both can adapt to any style of fight. But as they say, something has to give. Teixeira has the advantage on the ground, as he’s proven his legit status as a jiu-jitsu practitioner with countless submissions wins to his name. Santos, on the other hand, may have just a bit more power in his hands. But despite people thinking Teixeira may have a weaker chin, that’s really not the case since he has only been knocked out twice in four years. On that note, Glover has been on a career resurrection as of late, winning four in a row with his last loss coming in 2018. Not bad for a 41-year old MMA fighter who’s been involved in countless wars. As for Santos, this will be his first fight in 16 months. That’s because he’s been on the sidelines after shredding his knee during his title fight against “Bones.” And he returned at a good time because one win could very well get him back to the big dance. If the action remains on the feet and it turns into a slugfest — which I really think it will — Santos has the edge to come out on top. On the ground, Teixeira takes it.
What’s Not:
Arlovski is a former champion, and a legend of the sport. That’s why I have an issue with UFC matching him up against someone like Boser. No offense to Boser because he’s a talented fighter, but I cringe when I see promotions book a guy with the name value of Arlovski — who has been fighting for so long — against someone with only a fraction of the experience and name recognition. I prefer to see Arlovski taking on an opponent with a similar resume and similar experience. He’s not going to get close to another title fight, so just book him in some fun fights against someone like Junior dos Santos, a fight fans have been wanting for some time now.
Original Card Vs. Actual Card:
A fight between Carlos Diego Ferreira and Drew Dober was set to go down at this event, but after Ferreira was forced out with an illness, the fight was scrapped altogether. Jack Shore was removed from his fight against Khalid Taha for undisclosed reasons and was ultimately replaced by Raoni Barcelos, which will go down on the main card. Barcelos is on an eight-fight win streak and has yet to taste defeat inside the Octagon. Taha, meanwhile, is just 1-1-1 in his Octagon career, so a win over his red-hot opponent gives him a much-needed boost.
And finally, Anthony Birchak was tasked to make his UFC return after a four-year absence from the promotion to take on Gustavo Lopez after Felipe Colares tested positive for COVID-19. Birchak went 2-2 in his first stint, which wasn’t good enough to get a contract extension. After bouncing around from promotion to promotion, Birchak — who is on a two-fight win streak — has another chance to make an impression. Lopez, meanwhile, will look to pick up his first UFC win after coming up short in his debut against Merab Dvalishvili.
Injuries:
Philipe Lins suffered a knee injury and was forced out of his Heavyweight bout against Don’Tale Mayes. In turn, Mayes was booked to face Roque Martinez at UFC Vegas 14 on Nov. 14, 2020.
New Blood:
Jamey Simmons will be making his UFC debut after earning three wins on the regional circuit. He’s not really well-known on the MMA scene, but he has a chance to make a big first impression. That’s because he has a big test ahead of him against Giga Chikadze, who is on a six-fight win streak which includes four wins under the UFC umbrella. A win for Chikadze doesn’t do near as much as one for Simmons would since “The Afro Samurai” can certainly put himself on the UFC Featherweight map if he scores the upset.
Also, Ramiz Brahimaj will look to add some fresh blood to the Welterweight division when he takes on Max Griffin. Having competed for Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) since 2017, Brahimaj racked up a 4-2 mark with all of his victories coming via submission, so his bread-and-butter is no secret. His first matchup inside the Octagon is a difficult one, though Griffin has had some struggles as of late after dropping two in a row. He has been with the promotion for a total of four years, so he needs to start getting some wins, and fast, if he wants to ever get in the mix.
How The ‘Prelims’ Look:
We’ve just discussed two of the undercard bouts in the section prior, so let’s look at a couple of matchups we have yet to cover.
Trevin Giles and Bevon Lewis will headline the underbelly of the event in a Middleweight bout. Giles hasn’t competed since February when he defeated James Krause, who took the fight on a day’s notice. Prior to that, Giles was on a two-fight losing streak so he wasn’t exactly lighting the combat world on fire. Lewis, meanwhile, was last seen taking out Dequan Townsend in January, snapping his own two-fight win streak in the process.
In Heavyweight action, Marcos Rogerio de Lima will face off against Alexander Romanov. Marcos is coming off a win over Ben Sosoli but he’s been rather inconsistent over the last six years. Let me rephrase that: he’s been consistent in the fact that he’s alternated wins and losses over his last nine fights. That’s simply not going to cut it. Romanov has yet to taste defeat, winning all 12 of his pro fights including his UFC debut a few months ago against Roque Martinez. What’s even more impressive is the fact that he has finished every single one of his opponents, nine of them in the first round.
To get a more detailed look at all of the “Prelims” click here and here.
Who Needs A Win Badly:
Darren Elkins is as entertaining as they come, but a win has eluded him for some time. In fact, his last victory came in January of 2018. Since then he has dropped four in a row, which includes defeats at the hands of current 145-pound champion Alexander Volkanovski, Ricardo Lamas and Ryan Hall. Five-straight losses is a one-way ticket to a UFC release, regardless if you do walk into the cage with the “Just Bleed” attitude night in and night out. Standing in his way of his first win in a long time is Luiz Eduardo Garagorri, who suffered the first loss of his pro career against Ricardo Ramos a year ago, which was the last time he competed.
Interest Level: 6 of 10
Arlovski has had an up-and-down career over the last couple of years. After losing four straight fights — one of which was overturned to a no contest (NC) — he got back on track with a win over Ben Rothwell. He then got knocked out by Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the first round, before getting back in the win column against Philipe Lins earlier this year. Not the model of consistency. He will look to score consecutive wins for the first time since early 2018. In his way is Boser, winner of four of his last five.
Also, Claudia Gadelha will look to maker her case for a shot at the women’s Strawweight belt since she is ranked No. 4 at the moment. A win over Yan Xiaonan will help, but she will still have to wait until Rose Namajunas tangos with Weili Zhang sometime in 2021.
Ian Heinisch came into the Octagon scorching hot, as he was on a five-fight win streak before dropping back-to-back defeats to Derek Brunson and Omari Akhmedov. After knocking out Gerald Meerschaert in the very first round, Heinisch will look to score a big win over Brendan Allen. It won’t come easy because all Allen does is win, scoring seven straight victories including one over rising Middleweight contender, Kevin Holland.
Enjoy the fights!
Full Fight Card:
UFC Vegas 13 Main Event:
205 lbs.: Thiago Santos vs. Glover Teixeira
UFC Vegas 13 Main Card on ESPN+/ESPN2 (10 p.m. ET):
265 lbs.: Andrei Arlovski vs. Tanner Boser
135 lbs.: Raoni Barcelos vs. Khalid Taha
185 lbs.: Brendan Allen vs. Ian Heinisch
115 lbs.: Claudia Gadelha vs. Yan Xiaonan
UFC Vegas 13 Prelims Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):
185 lbs.: Trevin Giles vs. Bevon Lewis
265 lbs.: Marcos Rogerio vs. Alexandr Romanov
145 lbs.: Darren Elkins vs. Eduardo Garagorri
170 lbs.: Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Max Griffin
135 lbs.: Anthony Birchak vs. Gustavo Lopez
145 lbs.: Giga Chikadze vs. Jamey Simmons
***Fight card, bout order and the amount of matches subject to drastic change because of the various global quarantine restrictions.***
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 13 fight card this weekend right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ESPN2 / ESPN+ 10 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 13: “Santos vs. Teixeira” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.