UFC Vegas 88 Start Time, Full Fight Details!

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back inside the friendly confines of UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, later TONIGHT (Sat., March 16, 2024) to stage UFC Vegas 88, featuring a Heavyweight bout between Tai Tuivasa vs. Marcin Tybura. In the co main event, Bryan Battle will take on Ange Loosa in a pivotal Welterweight affair.

What’s Hot:

Once again, the big men will be taking center stage inside UFC Apex just a few weeks removed from the dull affair between Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev, which eventually resulted in a fourth round technical knockout win for “Bigi Boy.” When Tuivasa and Tybura start trading blows, this fight could come to an end as quickly as it began so it may not go long enough to bore fight fans.

Tuivasa currently finds himself on yet another three-fight losing streak for the second time in his UFC career. After going through his first winless drought back in 2018-2019, Tuivasa racked up five straight wins soon thereafter. Since then, though, he’s come up short against Cyril Gane, Serghei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov, getting finished by each man. “Bam Bam” hits like a truck, but is also vulnerable to getting finished as was the case in five of his six defeats.

As for Tybura, his two-fight win streak went up in smoke after he ran into Tom Aspinall in the Brit’s comeback fight, losing via TKO in a little over a minute (see it again here). “Tybur” is just as dangerous on the ground as he is on the feet, which is a rarity for big men not named Fabricio Werdum. If he takes the fight to the ground his outlook of having his hand raised increases exponentially. The thing about Tuivasa, however, is that he tends to get a bit careless once he starts throwing caution to the wind and starts looking for the home run shot. If he’s not careful, another knockout loss could be added to his resume, which I believe is the most likeliest outcome of this fight.

What’s Not:

We can’t complain too much. It’s not that bad of a card, and we are just coming off one of the most stacked cards in recent memory in UFC 299, which delivered from top to bottom. Plus, UFC 300 is just around the corner.

Original Card Vs. Actual Card:

A Bantamweight bout between Charalampos Grigoriou vs. Toshiomi Kazama was expected to take place at the event before Kazama pulled out of the fight for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Chad Anheliger. Also, Thiago Moises and Brad Riddell were set to collide in a Lightweight bout before Riddell pulled out (also for undisclosed reasons). Stepping in to take his spot is UFC newcomer, Mitch Ramirez.

Injuries:

No major injuries were reported for this event.

New Blood:

Up-and-coming prospect, Mitch Ramirez, will get his chance to shine inside the Octagon when he battles long-time veteran, Thiago Mosies, in a Lightweight bout. Other than his lone defeat to Carlos Prates on Contender Series, Ramirez has been perfect in his career, winning seven of his eight of his fights via stoppage with five knockouts and two submissions (six in the first round). As for Moises, he is now six years and 11 fights deep into his UFC career. He only has a 6-5 record inside the Octagon, and is coming off a tough loss to Benoit Saint-Denis, who was a recent recipient of a knockout loss at the hands of Dustin Poirier.

Charalampos Grigoriou defeated Cameron Smotherman via first round knockout on Contender Series back in Aug. 2023, punching his ticket to the big show. Currently on a five-fight win streak, Grigoriou will take on Chad Anheliger, who is currently on a two-fight losing streak and in desperate need of a win.

Danny Silva is another Contender Series alum who is ready to shine in his first official fight with the promotion. Silva has been fighting all over the place — Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA), Combate Americas and Cage Fury Fighting Championship (CFFC) — and is looking to make UFC a more permanent home. Welcoming him to the cage will be Joshua Culibao, who is coming off a loss to Lerone Murphy and has amassed a 3-2-1 record so far inside the Octagon. Silva missed weight for his debut fight and will lose 20 percent of his fight purse.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

Chelsea Chandler will step back into the cage eight months removed from her loss to Norma Dumont, which lead to her becoming an instant MMA meme. Early in round one, Dumont tagged Chandler with a combination that sent her running clear across the cage in desperation only to run into the cage (see it here for giggles). Chandler will now drop to Bantamweight to face Josiane Nunes, who has been on an absolute tear, winning nine straight fights, including going two-for-two inside the eight-walled cage. Chandler missed weight attempting to hit the 136-pound mark, and will cough up 20 percent of her paycheck to her Brazilian foe.

Natan Levy may have stumbled out of the UFC gates by losing his promotional debut back in Nov. 2021, but the Contender Series alum has since won two straight, improving his overall professional MMA record to a respectable 8-1. He will face Mike Davis, who is 3-1 so far in his UFC run with his lone loss coming in his debut against Gilbert Burns at Lightweight. Levy was one of three fighters who tipped the scales heavy, resulting in a 20 percent fine of his paycheck, too.

Ode Osbourne has been unable to pick up much steam during his three-year run with UFC, racking up a 4-4 record, losing his most recent outing against Assu Almabayev via rear-naked choke. He really has to turn it around and collect wins on a regular basis if he wants to hang around much longer. He has a tough test against Jafel Filho, who is 1-1 so far inside the Octagon, with his first win with the promotion coming against Daniel Barez.

Jaqueline Amorim notched a nice stoppage win over Montserrat Ruiz in Aug. 2023, just five months after coming up short in her UFC debut against Sam Hughes. She hopes to build on that momentum when she battles UFC veteran, Cory McKenna, who is 3-1 with the promotion. Both are hoping to one day crack the Top 15, but they still have plenty of work ahead of them.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Bryan Barberena has had some nice wins under the UFC banner, taking out the likes of Robbie Lawler, Matt Brown and Jake Ellenberger. Since Dec. 2022, however, “Bam Bam” has had a horrid run, losing three in a row to Rafael dos Anjos, Gunnar Nelson and, more recently, Makhmud Muradov, in July 2023. As he heads into his fight against Gerald Meerschaert — who could use a win himself after dropping two in a row and three of his last four — Barberena finds himself in a must-win situation or face a potential release from the promotion. In fact, this could be a loser leaves town match. Tuivasa is also on a three-fight losing streak, but that particular “Bam Bam” has a better chance of hanging on to his spot on the roster with a fourth straight loss.

Interest Level: 5.5/10

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

In the co-main event, rising Welterweight contender, Bryan Battle, will look to continue his ascension up the ladder when he battles Ange Loosa. Battle hit a speed bump against Rinat Fakhretdinov, but has bounced back nicely with back-to-back wins to improve his UFC record to 5-2. A few more wins and Battle could be landing in the Top 15, but Loosa has his own plans, though he has a long way to go since he is only three fights deep into his UFC career. This is a great matchup between two young studs ready to make an imprint in the veteran-stacked division.

Long-time Light Heavyweight veteran, Ovince St. Preux, is still chugging along and will take part in UFC fight No. 27 when he goes toe-to-toe against Kennedy Nzechukwu. “OSP” hasn’t exactly enjoyed the same success as he did early on in his UFC career, and is just 3-6 in his last nine fights. He was starched by Philipe Lins in less than one minute in his last outing more than one year ago (see it here), so he needs a big win here to gain some confidence moving forward. As for Nzechukwu, he was knocked out by Dustin Jacoby in the first round seven months ago (highlights), snapping his two-fight win streak.

Christian Rodriguez may have stumbled out of the gates by losing his UFC debut to Jonathan Pearce, but “CeeRod” has really turned it around, winning three in a row, including derailing Raul Rosas Jr,’s hype train. The talented Featherweight is out to keep his hot streak going when he goes up against Isaac Dulgarian, who is an absolute finishing machine, taking out all six of his opponents in the first round, four by knockout and two via submission.

This fight has the potential to steal the show.

In women’s Bantamweight action, Pannie Kianzad takes on Macy Chiasson. Both ladies are 1-2 in their last three outings, with Kianzad coming up short against Ketlen Vieira in her last fight, and Chiasson losing to Irene Aldana. That defeat came way back in Sept. 2022, so it has been awhile since we have seen her inside the Octagon. Neither woman has been particularly stellar so far, so they need an impressive win to start building up some momentum.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC Vegas 88 Fight Card:

UFC Vegas 88 Main Event On ESPN+:

265 lbs.: Tai Tuivasa vs. Marcin Tybura

UFC Vegas 88 Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):

170 lbs.: Bryan Battle vs. Ange Loosa
205 lbs.: Ovince St. Preux vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
145 lbs.: Christian Rodriguez vs. Isaac Dulgarian
135 lbs.: Pannie Kianzad vs. Macy Chiasson
185 lbs.: Gerald Meerschaert vs. Bryan Barberena

UFC Vegas 88 ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):

155 lbs.: Natan Levy vs. Mike Davis
135 lbs.: Josiane Nunes vs. Chelsea Chandler
125 lbs.: Jafel Filho vs. Ode Osbourne
155 lbs.: Thiago Moises vs. Mitch Ramirez
145 lbs.: Josh Culibao vs. Danny Silva
115 lbs.: Jaqueline Amorim vs. Cory McKenna
135 lbs.: Charalampos Grigoriou vs. Chad Anheliger

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 88 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 88: “Tuivasa vs. Tybura” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.