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The biggest MMA promotion in the world returns to its Las Vegas APEX for UFC Vegas 28 after taking a weekend off. Hard-hitting heavyweights will take center stage as knockout artists Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Walt Harris square off with fellow ranked fighters Augusto Sakai and Marcin Tybura, respectively.
UFC Vegas 28 might not be too appealing a card for casual viewers due to the event's lack of star power. Overall, it should still be worth watching as it promises to deliver some highlight reel-worthy moments. With that said, UFC Vegas 28 is far from a flawless card as it could bring forth a few stinkers as well.
Listed below are three notable fights and a couple of bouts that might not live up to expectations.
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Fight to look forward to: Santiago Ponzinibbio vs Miguel Baeza
After significant time away from the octagon, Santiago Ponzinibbio will make his second appearance of 2021 at UFC Vegas 28 as he locks horns with undefeated rising star Miguel Baeza.
Ponzinibbio was cruising through the UFC middleweight division with seven straight wins between 2015 and 2018. But the Argentinian was stopped in his tracks after a string of injuries sidelined him for over two years.
Ponzinibbio had his streak snapped in devastating fashion when he returned against Jingliang Li earlier this year. He will get a chance to test how well he's recovered since then when he goes face-to-face with the younger Baeza.
On the flipside, Baeza will face the toughest test of his career thus far at UFC Vegas 28. 'Caramel Thunder' will get the opportunity to prove that he's among the best fighters at welterweight if he can get past the formidable veteran.
Fight that will likely disappoint: Roman Dolidze vs Laureano Staropoli
Roman Dolidze and Laureano Staropoli are unproven commodities in the UFC. Both men are coming off disappointing unanimous decision losses and will look to bounce back with a victory at UFC Vegas 28.
Based on their most recent performances, the two middleweights might take a conservative approach to score a much-needed win. That possibility could result in an exceedingly lackluster affair.
On top of that, a win for either man won't be very consequential to the grand scheme of things at middleweight. Given how their previous fights went, it's a mystery how Dolidze and Staropoli found themselves on the main card.
Fight to look forward to: Walt Harris vs Marcin Tybura
In the co-main event of UFC Vegas 28, Walt Harris and Marcin Tybura will jockey for position in the UFC heavyweight rankings.
Harris is searching for a much-needed victory, hoping to bounce back from a two-fight skid and a personal tragedy. After the unfortunate passing of his daughter, Harris returned to the octagon against Overeem in May 2020, losing via TKO in round two. The woes continued for Harris when he succumbed to Alexander Volkov at UFC 254 in another second-round TKO.
On the other hand, Tybura will head into UFC Vegas 28 with a ton of momentum after stringing together four wins in a row. He looked impressive in his latest outing when he put Greg Hardy away in the second round at UFC Vegas 17.
The judges will probably be a non-factor in this co-main event bout. What makes most heavyweight fights so exciting to watch is that anybody could get knocked out at any given point of the fight, not to mention that Harris and Tybura have a solid track record of finishing fights.
Fight that will likely disappoint: Tanner Boser vs. Ilir Latifi
Tanner Boser made a splashy arrival in the heavyweight division with wins in three of his first four appearances. However, 'The Bulldozer' was outclassed by former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski in November 2020. He'll try to get back to winning ways against Ilir Latifi at UFC Vegas 28.
Latifi has fallen on hard times of late with three straight losses against Corey Anderson, Volkan Oezdemir, and Derrick Lewis. He'll attempt to return to the win column at UFC Vegas 28 as he continues to try his luck at heavyweight.
However, Latifi is already undersized as a light heavyweight. It's difficult to imagine how he'll succeed in the land of the giants as he will no longer have the power advantage he uses to offset his lack of skill.
Many signs point to a one-sided victory in favor of Boser after three lackluster rounds at UFC Vegas 28.
Fight to look forward to: Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Augusto Sakai
Two redemption-hungry heavyweights will clash in the main event of UFC Vegas 28 as Jairzinho Rozenstruik takes on Augusto Sakai.
Rozenstruik took the UFC heavyweight division by storm, winning his first four fights by KO and TKO. But he ran into a brick wall at UFC 249, when eventual heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou gave him a dose of his own medicine. 'Bigi Boy' bounced back with an impressive TKO win against Junior Dos Santos but dropped a unanimous decision to Ciryl Gane in his most recent fight.
Similarly, Sakai kick-started his UFC career with four consecutive victories. But he suffered his first stoppage loss when he went face-to-face with octagon veteran Alistair Overeem at UFC Vegas 9.
Safe to say, this main event bout will not go the distance. When a pair of highly-motivated, heavy-hitting big men collide at the center of the octagon, it will only be a matter of time before somebody hits the deck.
The heavyweight clash could be the most exciting bout at UFC Vegas 28.
