UFC Vegas 71 | Main Card Preview

Saturday, March 11th (6:00 PM EST Main Card, 3:00 PM EST Prelims)

Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili

WATCH - You can be the best fighter in your weight class, and one of the best fighters in the entire organization, but it doesn’t mean anything if your gameplan doesn’t fit the round by round scoring of the UFC. #2 Yan and #3 Dvalishvili may be two of the best bantamweights in the world, but they lack the urgency required to be the best. They consistently lose rounds early on in fights as they gain a feel for their opponents. Unfortunately for them, it doesn’t matter how much you stomp the last round if you’re dropping close rounds where nothing happened at the beginning of each fight. So the real test today isn’t who wins, but who comes out guns blazing at the start, cause that’s the fighter who’s making the improvement that really matters.

Alexander Volkov vs. Alexandr Romanov

WATCH - Just two big eastern europeans looking to make a last ditch effort to prove they are still relevant in the heavyweight division. #8 Volkov will be trying to find the right range to knock off his opponent’s head while #14 Romanov will try to suplex him through the floorboards. Here’s hoping it’s a quick easy fight and not the long and painful experiences we sometimes must endure with these big boys.

Nikita Krylov vs. Ryan Spann

WATCH - #6 Krylov has seemingly resurged his career out of nowhere. He looked close to being cut or forced into retirement only a year ago and now 2 big wins later and he’s at the cusp of a title eliminator. But if there is anyone to derail this resurgence, it’s the hard-hitting killer of UFC veterans #8 Ryan Spann.

Ricardo Ramos vs. Austin Lingo

WATCH - Middle-tier unranked featherweight bout. They’re both young, won their last fight, and have some decent UFC records. But are probably at least 2 more wins from getting a ranked opponent. Not a must watch but will likely be a fun competitive fight.

Said Nurmagomedov vs. Jonathan Martinez

WATCH - Was about to suggest the winner deserves a ranked opponent next before I realized Said Nurmagomedov is now #14 in the bantamweight division. Martinez has been on my radar for a while as an up and coming must watch banger of a fighter. This is a great prospect fight with both guys excellent at finishing and sporting some lengthy win streaks.

MMAalgo Bet - Jonathan Martinez 3u @ +205 (better than -120.3)

Vitor Petrino vs. Anton Turkalj

WATCH - Maybe I’m getting soft or just in a good mood but hey, why not watch every fight on this main card! It’s not the sexiest main event ever but we have a former champion and 4 ranked fights, that’s about as good as it gets nowadays for a fight night main card. Especially for one sandwiched between two incredible pay per views. So even if he’s likely fighting a can, we might as well try to start off strong watching the debut of the young undefeated light heavyweight, Vitor Petrino.

*Nothing contained in this post is financial advice, please bet at your own risk