Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns later TONIGHT (Sat., Nov. 5, 2022) to stage UFC Vegas 64 from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Headlining the event will be a pivotal women’s Strawweight fight between Marina Rodriguez and Amanda Lemos. In the co-headlining bout, Neil Magny battles Daniel Rodriguez in a Welterweight affair.
What’s Hot:
Marina Rodriguez should have stamped her ticket to a title fight after four straight wins, but she will have to pick up one more win to do so because Carla Esparza will next defend her title against Zhang Weili at UFC 281 on Nov. 12, 2022. Rodriguez has to get through Amanda Lemos in the main event of UFC Vegas 64. She has stayed red hot since losing to Esparza two years ago, but she isn’t about to take her foot off the gas because she is one step away from her ultimate goal.
As for Lemos, she is 6-1 over her last seven fights inside the Octagon and is fresh off a submission victory over Michelle Waterson. If she can upset Rodriguez, she could make a huge leap in the division toward a Top 5 ranking. Now, a title fight may not necessarily be in Lemos’ immediate future with a win, but it will put her on that path. Rodriguez will be one of her stiffest tests to date because the Brazilian bomber isn’t shy about engaging in an all-out standup war. Leoms has the advantage in the jiu-jitsu department, but getting Rodriguez down will be a tough thing to accomplish. Lemos will have to try to get in close enough while avoiding the big shots coming her way.
What’s Not:
There were four fighters who missed weight at historically-disastrous UFC weigh-ins, including Grant Dawson, Benito Lopez, Ramona Pascual, and Carlos Candelario, leading to a UFC record that the promotion is obviously not proud of. Thankfully no bouts were scrapped because of the multiple scale fails, but it is still disheartening to see so many pro fighters come up short.
Original Card vs. Actual Card:
The original main event was set to feature a Featherweight scrap between Bryce Mitchell and Movsar Evloev before Evloev was forced out of the event with an undisclosed injury, paving the way for Rodriguez and Lemos to take center stage. Also, a Heavyweight fight between Jailton Almeida and Maxim Grishin was scrapped earlier in the week for undisclosed reasons.
Injuries:
Other than Evloev’s unfortunate circumstances, no other fights were scrapped as a result of an injury.
New Blood:
Tamiris Vidal will be making her UFC debut when she takes on Ramona Pascual in a women’s Bantamweight bout. With a record of 7-1, Vidal wants to make a splash in her UFC debut — where she will be taking home extra bank as a result of Pascual also failing to make weight after weighing in one pound heavy.
How The ‘Prelims’ Look:
Darrick Minner will battle Shayilan Nuerdanbieke in a 145-pound tilt between two men going in opposite directions in their respective UFC careers. Minner is currently on a two-fight losing streak while Nuerdanbieke has won two straight after coming up short in his UFC debut.
In women’s Flyweight action, Miranda Maverick will take on Shanna Young, who missed the weigh-in mark by one pound on her first attempt and would have had to fork over some of her fight purse to her foe had she not cut her hair to make weight on her second attempt. Maverick is hoping to build off the momentum of her huge win over Sabina Mazo earlier this year, while Young is looking to do the same after she stopped Gina Mazano via strikes in April.
Another person that missed the mark at the dreadful weigh-ins was Benito Lopez, who tipped the scales at 138.5 ahead of his scheduled Bantamweight bout against Mario Bautista, who has won four of his last five fights inside the Octagon. Lopez, meanwhile, is 1-3 inside the eight-sided cage. If Lopez happens to have an impressive performance, he will not be eligible to win an extra $50,000 in post-fight bonus money.
In women’s Strawweight action, Jinh Yu Frey hopes to bounce back after coming up short to Vanessa Demopoulos earlier this year as she takes on Polyana Viana, who is coming off a tough loss to Tabatha Ricci. Viana is just 2-4 in her last six fights, so she needs a win in the worse way.
Liudvik Sholinian returns after a year-long layoff following his loss to Jack Shore in his UFC debut to take on Johnny Munoz — who is coming off a loss to Tony Gravely. Prior to the skid, Munoz, was coming off a win over Jamey Simmons, but he is still just 1-2 so far inside the Octagon.
Who Needs A Win Badly:
Carlos Candelario started his MMA career at 8-0, which was good enough to earn him a spot in the Contender Series. Despite coming up short in his fight against Victor Altamirano, he was given the chance to make his UFC debut against Tatsuro Taira a year later, although he went on to lose via unanimous decision. He got off to a bad start in his sophomore UFC effort after he missed weight by 2.5 pounds. So when you couple his previous two losses with his scale fail, he will be on thin ice if he happens to come up short against Jake Hadley.
Interest Level: 5/10
In the co-main event, Neil Magny and Daniel Rodriguez will collide in one of the more intriguing fights of the night. Welterweight has always been one of the most crowded divisions, filled with top contenders ready to vie for the strap, and Magny and Rodriguez are trying to crack the Top 10. Magny has never been able to get over the hump to get his name mentioned in a title fight, coming up short when he needed it most, including in his last fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov. As for Rodriguez, he is coming off a big win over Li Jingliang at UFC 279, and is eyeing a rescheduled bout against Kevin Holland. If he can take out Magny, he could very well get his wish.
In the Heavyweight division, Josh Parisian will take on Chase Sherman in the lone big man fight of the night. Parisian earned his first knockout win in over two years in his previous bout by icing Alan Baudot in the second round earlier this year. As for Sherman, he earned a new lease on his combat life by stopping Jared Vanderaa via strikes in his previous bout, snapping his dreadful four-fight losing streak.
Despite going through a terrible weight cut, Nate Mannes powered through and hit his mark for his Flyweight fight against Tagi Ulanbekov. Now it remains to be seen if the weight cut takes a toll on him come fight night because Ulanekov is hungry for a “W” after he suffered the first loss of his UFC career and lost his five-fight win streak to Tim Elliott earlier this year. Mannes also suffered the first loss of his UFC career this year after he was outworked by Umar Nurmagomedov.
Another fighter who missed weight was Grant Dawson, who came in 1.5 pounds heavy for his Lightweight scrap against Mark Madsen. Scale fails aside, Dawson has been on fire since making his UFC debut in 2019, going 6-0-1, and now looks to add to that by handing Madsen his first-ever loss. And that is far from an easy task because Madsen is perhaps the best wrestler at 155 pounds and is 4-0 inside the Octagon.
Full UFC Vegas 64 Fight Card:
UFC Vegas 64 Main Event On ESPN+:
115 lbs.: Amanda Lemos vs. Marina Rodriguez
UFC Vegas 64 Main Card On ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):
170 lbs.: Neil Magny vs. Daniel Rodriguez
265 lbs.: Josh Parisian vs. Chase Sherman
125 lbs.: Nate Maness vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
155 lbs.: Grant Dawson vs. Mark Madsen220 lbs.:Jailton Almeidavs.Maxim Grishin— CANCELEDUFC Vegas 64 ‘Prelims’ Card On ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):
145 lbs.: Darrick Minner vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
125 lbs.: Miranda Maverick vs. Shanna Young
135 lbs.: Mario Bautista vs. Benito Lopez
115 lbs.: Jinh Yu Frey vs. Polyana Viana
135 lbs.: Ramona Pascual vs. Tamires Vidal
135 lbs.: Johnny Munoz vs. Liudvik Sholinian
125 lbs.: Carlos Candelario vs. Jake Hadley*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 64 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN+) at 7 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 64: “Rodriguez vs. Lemos” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.