UFC Vegas 96 Start Time, Full Fight Card Details! | UFC Betting Sites

UFC Fight Night: Weigh-Ins — Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is headed back to the Apex (only for a little while longer) to stage UFC Vegas 96: “Cannonier vs. Borralho” later TONIGHT (Sat., Aug. 24, 2024) featuring a 185-pound showdown between Top 15 middleweight bruisers Jared Cannonier and Caio Borralho, plus the finals of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 32, on ESPN+.

What’s Hot:

Dricus du Plessis handled his business last Saturday at UFC 305 by submitting Israel Adesanya, securing his first-ever 185-pound title defense (see it again here), while adding to his every-impressive resume, which includes consecutive victories over Robert Whittaker, Sean Strickland and “The Last Stylebender.” That means that the rest of the contenders are salivating at the mouth to get at “Stillknocks.” Jared Cannonieer would love nothing more than to work his way back up to another title fight after coming up short against Adesanya back at UFC 276 two years ago. He did bounce back nicely with back-to-back wins over Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori, but then came up short against Nassourdine Imavov, losing via fourth-round TKO in his most recent outing (recap here). Currently ranked No. 5, Cannonier will look to get back on track against rising contender Caio Borralho, who has been nothing short of impressive during his UFC run.

After back-to-back wins in two separate outings on the Contender Series, Borralho was finally able to punch his ticket to the big show, and he has been nothing short of a monster, racking up six consecutive wins, three of which came by stoppage, including his TKO win over Paul Craig at UFC 301 a few months ago. His run has been good enough to land him the No. 12 spot, but he is looking to crash the Top 10, perhaps the Top 5, with a win over “Killa Gorilla.” The 31-year old has proven to have all the tools to get the job done, but Cannonier will without a doubt be his toughest test to date inside the Octagon given his experience. But, Borralho has met all challenges head on and this one will be no different. This should be a banger of a fight.

What’s Not:

The fights are going to happen regardless of order, I get that, but putting Angela Hill vs. Tabatha Ricci as co-main over undefeated Michael Morales taking on longtime veteran, Neil Magny, is crazy work. Others may beg to differ, and that’s okay, but in my opinion giving Morales — who is 16-0, 4-0 UFC — his time to shine against a legit vet in Magny would’ve been the better call to co-headline this event.

Original Card vs. Actual Card & Injuries:

A middleweight fight between Roman Kopylov and Brunno Ferreira was scrapped after Kopylov had to withdraw from the fight after undergoing appendicitis surgery. Plus, a featherweight bout between Danny Silva and Dennis Buzukja was also scheduled for this event before Silva withdrew due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Francis Marshall in a lightweight bout.

New Blood:

Robert Valentin made quick work of his two opponents on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 32 as a member of Team Grasso, defeating Giannis Bachar via first-round knockout in the opening round, and then submitting Paddy McCorry, also in the first round, to make his way to the middleweight finals against against Ryan Loder. Speaking of which, Loder will be representing Team Shevchenko after submitting Tom Theocharis in the first round, and then winning a unanimous decision against Omran Chaaban to reach the finals.

The featherweight finale of TUF 32 will see Team Grasso’s Kaan Ofli and Mairon Santos throw down to see who gets the coveted “six-figure” contract. Ofli defeated Nathan Fletcher in the opening round via unanimous decision before punching his ticket to the finals with a first-round submission win over Roedie Roets. As for Santos, he went the distance in both of his fights against Edwin Cooper Jr. and late replacement, Guillermo Torres. But don’t get it twisted, Santos can finish because he has seven such victories that proves just that.

Cong Wang will make her official UFC debut when she takes on Victoria Leonardo in a women’s Flyweight bout. Wang is undefeated at 5-0, which includes a big win against Paula Luna in the Road to UFC Season 3: Shanghai quarterfinals. As for Leonardo, she is just 1-3 in her first four fights with UFC, so she needs a better showing (and a win) if she wants to hang around much longer.

Nathan Fletcher (8-1) was eliminated in the very first round of the featherweight tournament at TUF 32 by finalist Kaan Ofli, so now he is looking to impress in his UFC debut in hopes of locking down a contract for himself. He will face another fighter who was eliminated early on in Zygimantas Ramaska, who is an impressive 9-2.

Despite coming off a loss on the Contender Series to Magomed Gadzhiyasulov, Jose Medina will get the opportunity to make his official UFC debut against Zachary Reese (which we will discuss in more detail below).

How The Prelims Look:

Josiane Nunes was on quite a run, winning nine straight fights, including her first three under the UFC banner before she ran into Chelsea Chandler earlier this year, who snapped her streak. Now, she is out to start another run when she battles Jaqueline Cavalcanti in women’s bantamweight action. Cavalcanti is on a four-fight win streak and is 6-1 overall, making good on her UFC debut by defeating Zarah Fairn a year ago. And judging by the picture above, she will have a HUGE height advantage.

Zachary Reese secured his first win under the UFC banner by stopping Julian Marquez with a vicious TKO two months ago, improving his record to 7-1. He doesn’t want to let go of that momentum so you can bet he will come out guns blazing when he squares off against Jose Medina, who is coming off a loss to Magomed Gadzhiyasulov on the Contender Series.

Dennis Buzukja secured his first-ever win inside the Octagon after losing his first two bouts, surely saving him from getting cut. As for his opponent, Francis Marshall, he did win his UFC debut after coming out of the Contender Series, but has since dropped back-to-back fights, so he needs a win here badly.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Viacheslav Borshchev’s run with the promotion has been less than stellar, to say the least. He did get off to a nice start thanks to a knockout win over Dakota Bush in his debut, but has since gone just 1-3-1, which means a loss against James Llontop could mark the end of the road for him inside the Octagon. That’s not to say the Llontop doesn’t need a big win, too, because he came up short in his own UFC debut, losing to Chris Padilla via first-round rear-naked choke earlier this year, snapping his 12-fight win streak on the regional circuit.

Interest Level: 5/10

UFC Fight Night: Cannonier v Borralho Weigh-in

In the co-main event, Angela Hill (No. 9) will face Tabatha Ricci (No. 11) in a women’s strawweight fight. Hill is 4-1 in her last five fights, a nice turnaround for her after enduring a three-fight losing streak which could have cost “Overkill” her spot on the bloated roster. As for Ricci, she is 5-1 in her last six fights, and is out to crash the Top 10 with a win.

Neil Magny’s last three defeats have come against Gilbert Burns, Ian Machado Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov, so he’s accustomed to facing the best of the best. He is fresh off a TKO win over Mike Malott just a few months ago, and would love nothing more than to keep that momentum going by handing Michael Morales his first-ever defeat. Indeed, Morales is sitting pretty with a 16-0 record, which includes winning his first four fights under the UFC banner. He has 11 knockouts in his career, so it would be in Magny’s best interest to keep his head on a swivel because if the Ecuadorian connects, it could be an early night for him.

Edmen Shahbazyan never quite lived up to the hype. Once touted as one of the best rising middleweights in the world, his star fizzled after suffering a three-fight losing streak. He has gone on to recover with a 2-1 record since, so if he wants to keep the ascension on track, a win over Gerald Meerschaert is a must. Meerschaert recently snapped his own two-fight skid after defeating Bryan Barberena via submission in March of this year, so he has every right to come in confident.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC Vegas 96 Fight Card:

UFC Vegas 96 Main Event On ESPN/ESPN+:

185 lbs.: Jared Cannonier vs. Caio Borralho

UFC Vegas 96 Main Card on ESPN/ESPN+ (10 p.m. ET):

115 lbs.: Angela Hill vs. Tabitha Ricci
185 lbs.: Ryan Loder vs. Robert Valentin (TUF 32 Middleweight final)
145 lbs.: Kaan Ofli vs. Mairon Santos (TUF 32 Featherweight final)
170 lbs.: Neil Magny vs. Michael Morales
185 lbs.: Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Gerald Meerschaert

UFC Vegas 96 ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):

155 lbs.: Dennis Buzukja vs. Francis Marshall
205 lbs.: Zach Reese vs. Jose Medina
155 lbs.: Viacheslav Borshchev vs. James Llontop
135 lbs.: Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs. Josiane Nunes
145 lbs.: Zygimantas Ramaska vs. Nathan Fletcher
125 lbs.: Wang Cong vs. Victoria Leonardo

*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 96 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card matchups, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 96 news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archives here and here. For the updated and finalized “Cannonier vs. Borralho” fight card and ESPN/ESPN+ lineup click here.