UFC Vegas 47 | Main Card Preview
Saturday, February 5th (7:00 PM EST Main Card, 4:00 PM EST Prelims)
Jack Hermansson vs. Sean Strickland
WATCH - #6 Hermansson is a very versatile veteran. His usual win condition is to get the fight to the ground and expose how shallow the middleweight division is in wrestling talent. But that doesn't mean he can't swing either, his most recent loss was a fight of the night swanging match against #2 Marvin Vettori. However, that doesn't mean he should swing. Strickland is an entertainment machine, with a polarizing psycho personality out of the cage and a fearlessy flatfooted yet aggressive striking style in the cage. If Strickland can get Hermansson to stay on the feet and box with him we are in for an absolute banger, but one that may not be too kind to the aging Hermansson.
Punahele Soriano vs. Nick Maximov
WATCH - Soriano entered the UFC like a storm as a young undefeated fighter and quickly racked up back-to-back KO/TKO's. But in his 3rd UFC fight he couldn't quite handle the talented fellow prospect Brendan Allen and it cost him is 0. Now it's Soriano's turn to take away an even newer prospect's 0 and continue the cycle. The undefeated Maximov is best known for beating a heavyweight opponent on short notice on DWCS and for his friendship with his training partners, the Diaz brothers. He made quick work of his debut opponent in the UFC and is looking to keep the good times rolling this Saturday night. Another absolute banger in the middleweight division!
Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Carlston Harris
WATCH - If you've ever seen a list titled something like "Most hyped prospects" or "Unranked fighters most likely to fight for a title" or even "Best undefeated fighters in the UFC" then you have surely seen the name Shavkat Rakhmonov. He's won every fight he's ever had in his career by finish and he's made it look easy. His ability to dominate with both striking and grappling draws many comparisons to #11 Khamzat Chimaev, and the age and talent level of both of them means that the two going head-to-head in a welterweight title fight one day is all but inevitable. But first, Rakhmonov will need to get past Carlston Harris before he can get a ranked opponent, and Harris has looked just as dominating in his 2 UFC victories, albeit being 6 years Rakhmonov's senior when entering the UFC. This is going to be fireworks!
Sam Alvey vs. Phil Hawes
BATHROOM BREAK - And finally we arrive at the lone stinker of the main card this weekend. Calling Alvey a journeyman would be an offense to journeymen. The man hasn't won in his last 7 UFC fights. Phil Hawes was once a hyped up and murderous middleweight prospect but every single fight he has he gets less aggressive, and he was recently knocked out. The UFC is setting Phil Hawes up with a layup for an easy finish to put him back in the limelight, but unfortunately for Hawes it seems that every Alvey fight lately has just made both fighters in it seem boring and awful regardless of how badly Alvey gets beaten.
Tresean Gore vs. Bryan Battle
WATCH - Long have we waited! And by "we" I mean me and the 5 other people that watched the newest season of The Ultimate Fighter. Battle vs Gore (which is hilariously medieval sounding) was supposed to be the middleweight tournament finale before Gore pulled out for an injury leading to Battle easily defeating a replacement fighter to win the TUF tournament. Both of these fighters were by far the most interesting and dangerous in their weight division on the show and the tournament won't feel like it's truly over until we finally know which one will best the other.
Julian Erosa vs. Steven Peterson
WATCH - Two talented but inconsistent featherweight journeymen who have been finding more success than usual lately. Erosa is most well known for being a perpetual underdog on Conor McGregor's season of TUF before finally being TKOd in the semifinals by the hilariously stubby Artem Lobov. Peterson is most well-known for missing weight so that he can weight-bully 21-year-old Chase Hooper on the ground. I've heard rumors that Peterson hates puppies and prefers unsweetened iced tea.
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