Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back in Las Vegas, Nevada, to stage UFC Vegas 73 featuring a women’s Strawweight fight between Mackenzie Dern and Angela Hill. Co-headlining the ESPN+-streamed event will be a Middleweight scrap between Anthony Hernandez and Edmen Shahbazyan.
What’s Hot:
Dern’s quest to become UFC champion has been a roller-coaster ride since the start of her career with the promotion. Amanda Ribas quickly halted her ascension, handing her the first loss of her career just three fights into her UFC run. While Dern bounced back to win four in a row, Marina Rodriguez ended the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace’s momentum once more. She did get back on track by narrowly defeating Tecia Torres only to get sent back to the losers club by Yan Xiaonan.
That brings us to her fight against Hill, who has had enough of the disrespect from the media that she can handle. Currently sitting on the outside of the Top 10 looking in, Hill looks to crack the cream of the crop by handing Dern her second straight loss, which would be the first time she has dropped consecutive bouts. Hill is coming off back-to-back wins over Lupita Godinez and Emily Ducote, so she has the momentum coming into the women’s Strawweight bout. Dern is barely hanging on to the No. 8 spot, so a loss here definitely takes her out of the Top 10 and her hopes for a title shot will drift even further away. Dern has upped her striking skills, but against Hill her bread-and-butter (jiu-jitsu) will be her best path to victory. While “Overkill” has only been submitted twice in her career, Dern has the ability to make everyone look like a novice on the ground. If Hill can keep it standing, she has a slight advantage.
What’s Not:
Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Hayisaer Maheshate will take place as the “Prelims” headliner, even though both are coming off losses (Borshchev has lost two straight) and doesn’t really have big-name recognition with the promotion. Meanwhile, you have long-time veteran, Ilir Latifi, taking on Rodrigo Nascimento — who are both coming off wins — buried on the bottom of the undercard. Call me crazy, but I’d prefer to see two big men on the rise getting the spotlight rather than a couple of struggling Lightweights.
Original Card Vs. Actual Card:
Irene Aldana and Raquel Pennington were originally set to headline this event before Aldana was yanked and given a great opportunity to face Amanda Nunes for the Bantamweight belt at UFC 289 as a result of Julianna Pena’s injury. In turn, Dern vs. Hill was pulled from UFC Charlotte to headline the card. Polyana Viana was set to face Emily Ducote before she was forced out of the fight and replaced by Lupita Godinez. That fight will take place at a Catchweight of 120 pounds. Godinez is coming off a split decision victory over Cynthia Calvillo last April, while Ducote had her four-fight win streak snapped by Angela Hill in Dec. 2022.
Injuries:
No injuries were reported for this event.
New Blood:
No newcomers for this event.
How The ‘Prelims’ Look:
Takashi Soto came into the UFC cage and scored an impressive technical knockout win over Ben Saunders in his debut in 2019, but has since failed to cause any waves in the crowded pool that is the 170-pound division. Indeed, he has only been able to rack up a 1-4 record since his debut win, and has lost his last three in a row. If he wants to remain a UFC fighter he will need a victory against Themba Gorimbo, who is looking for his first UFC win after suffering a loss in his promotional debut against A.J. Fletcher.
In the women’s Flyweight division, Natalia Silva will attempt to win her third straight fight inside the Octagon, ninth overall, when she battles Victoria Leonardo, who snapped her two-fight losing streak by defeating Mandy Bohm nearly one year ago.
Chase Hooper’s UFC career has been inconsistently consistent. That’s because the young fighter has alternated wins and losses during his tenure to earn a 4-3 record. While it’s a winning mark, it won’t do much for his aspirations of cracking the Top 15. He is coming off a loss to Steve Garcia, so if history tells us anything it’s that he is due for a win when he takes on Nick Fiore (not to me mistaken with Nick Fury). Fiore suffered the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career at the hands of Mateusz Rebecki earlier this year, so he is hungry to get back in the win column.
In the Welterweight division, Orion Cosce will attempt to pick up his second straight win when he battles Gilbert Urbina, who will try to avoid his second straight loss after he was choked out by Bryan Battle in his last fight. Of course, that was nearly two years ago, so Urbina will also have to fight off ring rust. Nevertheless, Urbina can expect a bigger check than he initially anticipated because he will earn 20 percent of Cosce’s pay after coming in two pounds heavy.
Former women’s Strawweight title contender, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, has really found a new lease on her UFC life by winning her last two. Her current run is a welcomed site because prior to turning it around she had lost five in a row, which normally leads to getting cut. Nevertheless, the Polish bomber will look to rack up her first three-fight win streak since 2016 when she takes on Vanessa Demopoulos, who has quietly won three in a row and is 4-1 in her last five fights. That said, she also came in heavy for the fight and will cough up 20 percent of her purse to her foe.
Who Needs A Win Badly:
Diego Ferreira got off to a promising start to his UFC career, racking up an 8-2 record in his first 10 fights, which includes big wins over Anthony Pettis and Jared Gordon. But, since his victory over “Showtime” in 2020 Ferreira has gone ice cold, losing three in a row. Those defeats did come against Beneil Dariush, Gregor Gillespie and Mateusz Gamrot, but level of competition rarely gets taken into consideration when matchmakers start thinking about cuts. That said, Ferreira needs a win against Michael Johnson if he wants to avoid the axe. Johnson has had his own struggles over the last few years, but he is coming off a big win over Marc Diakiese, so he is looking to ride that wave of momentum in this fight.
Interest Level: 5.5/10
In the co-main event, Edmen Shahbazyan returns following his vital knockout win over Dalcha Lungiambula at UFC 282 in Dec. 2022. That win stopped the bleeding of his three-fight losing streak. Shahbazyan was at one time considered one of the biggest prospects in the sport, but his skid really took a lot of push out of the momentum he was on.
It’s a slow and arduous climb back to contention and relevance, so “The Golden Boy” can’t afford anymore setbacks. He will be facing off against Anthony Hernandez, who has done well for himself over the last three years, collecting a 4-1 record, which includes winning his previous three fights. A win over Shahbazyan gets him closer to the Top 15.
Joaquin Buckley will attempt to snap his two-fight losing streak when he takes on Andre Fialho, who has also lost two in a row. The two struggling Welterweights are in desperate need of a win because as the roster gets bigger, the need to win on a consistent basis grows, as well. Both men are coming off knockout losses, with Muslim Salikhov ending Fialho’s night early in Nov. 2022, while Buckley had his clock cleaned by Chris Curtis in Dec. 2022.
It’s an okay card that is sandwiched in between a time slot of a couple of boxing events — Taylor vs. Cameron and Haney vs. Lomachenko — for views.
Enjoy the fights!
Full UFC Vegas 73 Fight Card:
UFC Vegas 73 Main Event On ESPN+:
115 lbs.: Mackenzie Dern vs. Angela Hill
UFC Vegas 73 Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):
185 lbs.: Anthony Hernandez vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
115 lbs.: Emily Ducote vs. Loopy Godinez
170 lbs.: Joaquin Buckley vs. Andre Fialho
155 lbs.: Diego Ferreira vs. Michael Johnson
UFC Vegas 73 ‘Prelims’ Under Card on ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):
155 lbs.: Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Hayisaer Maheshate
115 lbs.: Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
170 lbs.: Orion Cosce vs. Gilbert Urbina
265 lbs.: Ilir Latifi vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
155 lbs.: Nick Fiore vs. Chase Hooper
125 lbs.: Victoria Leonardo vs. Natalia Silva
170 lbs.: Themba Takura Gorimbo vs. Takashi Sato
*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 73 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” undercard bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 7 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 73 news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Dern vs. Hill” fight card and ESPN+ line up click here.