UFC Vegas 45 | Main Card Preview
Saturday, December 18th (7:00 PM EST Main Card, 4:00 PM EST Prelims)
Derrick Lewis vs. Chris Daukaus
WATCH - Swang and bang! #3 Derrick Lewis has the record for most knockouts in UFC Heavyweight history with 12. He's almost certainly hit his ceiling in the division, so his only path forward is to collect checks by padding his record with even more knockouts. That is certainly doable against a guy like #7 Chris Daukaus, who is 4-0 in the UFC, all by KO/TKO. Both these guys are willing to risk it all for the punch that will end their opponent's night! Certain to a be a sloppy but entertaining banger!
Stephen Thompson vs. Belal Muhammad
BATHROOM BREAK - It's the final battle for the decision throne! #5 Stephen "Karate kick the air" Thompson takes on #10 Belal "Zero damage ground and pound" Muhammad to once and for all determine who is the most boring winner in the welterweight division. Thompson's takedown defense did not look too great against #2 Gilbert Burns but Muhammad's striking from range left much to be desired against #3 Leon Edwards so this one is up for grabs. The best part is that no matter who wins, they are entirely irrelevant to the title picture at 170! Hurray!
Amanda Lemos vs. Angela Hill
WATCH - #11 Lemos has been having a blast since switching to strawweight and absolutely destroying terrible unranked 115ers (previously fought at bantamweight so she dropped down not one but two whole divisions). #12 Hill is terrible but somehow is holding onto a ranking so it's the perfect kind of a step up for Lemos to see just how high up the rankings she can abuse her weight cutting ability.
Raphael Assuncao vs. Ricky Simon
WATCH - It's not just that #12 Assuncao is old or on a losing streak. It's that his last fight was a KO loss to Cody Garbrandt... Ricky Simon might seem a little like a journeyman at first glance, but he's still young and has a submission victory over #6 Merab Dvalishvili which has aged incredibly well. Plus, his only UFC losses to #5 Rob Font and the legendary Urijah Faber aren't too bad a look. Assuncao is nearing retirement or unceremonious cutting from the UFC, so he desperately needs a W here to stay on the UFC roster. And for Simon, journeyman or not, he certainly will be remembered as one if he loses to a 39-year-old Assuncao, so this may be his only chance to finally crack the top 15.
Diego Ferreira vs. Mateusz Gamrot
WATCH - The lightweight division is full of killers all the way down. And #12 Carlos Diego Ferreira, aka CDF, is about to find that out when after 2 losses in a row to fellow ranked opponents, he will now have to face a fierce unranked prospect. CDF has been an absolute killer in the UFC, with a resume stacked with great wins. Unfortunately, all it takes is some matchmaking pitting you against guys like Dustin Poirier, Beneil Dariush (2x) and Gregor Gillespie, and any hype you get from entering the UFC undefeated or submitting Anthony Pettis gets completely derailed. Gamrot also entered the UFC undefeated and his only loss was in his UFC debut in which he received the Fight of the Night bonus in a split decision loss. After that he absolutely smashed his next two opponents and is now looking to join the next generation of up and coming lightweights that are finally cracking the top 15 like Arman Tsarukyan, Rafael Fiziev, and Joel Alvarez.
Cub Swanson vs. Darren Elkins
WATCH - Old tiny guys from the pioneer era of tiny fighters trying to give each other CTE as one final parting gift for the amazing journeys they had in over 10 years of being UFC journeymen. Truly incredible!
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