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Another Saturday of UFC action is nearly upon us and another exciting card is all ready to go. This weekend’s event will take place inside the oh-so-familiar UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Understandably, fans are looking ahead to next week's UFC 265 pay-per-view, which is headlined by a blockbuster interim heavyweight title fight between Ciryl Gane and Derrick Lewis. But the Apex isn’t finished providing us with great matchups just yet and this week’s middleweight headliner is set to be an intriguing contest.
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UFC Vegas 33: Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland
In this weekend's main event, Sean Strickland will look to move one step closer to title contention with a victory over perennial middleweight contender Uriah Hall. Despite losing a number of scheduled fights and not boasting the most stacked host of names, Saturday's card should still be an entertaining watch, as is often the case with events that fly under the radar like this one.
With that said, here are five names to look out for at UFC Vegas 33.
#5. Kai Kamaka III - UFC featherweight
Kai Kamaka III is one of the most entertaining prospects in the UFC. Despite losing his last two bouts in the promotion, the 26-year-old has shown what he can do and always brings his all to the octagon. Given his current losing skid, that should be especially on display at UFC Vegas 33 when he steps in on short notice to face 'The Colombian Warrior' Danny Chavez.
After amassing a 7-2 record, which featured wins under the banners of promotions like Bellator and LFA, Kamaka was signed by the UFC last year. Against Tony Kelley on debut, 'The Fighting Hawaiian' extended his winning streak to six with a unanimous decision victory.
But a TKO loss against Jonathan Pearce last November stalled his rise, and after a Fight of the Night war against T.J. Brown at UFC Vegas 25 in May, Kamaka came out on the wrong side of a split decision. Nevertheless, his talent is clear and he'll look to show that against Chavez this weekend in what could be another classic.
#4. Nicco Montano - UFC women's bantamweight
Despite not being as stacked with top names and contenders as the recent Fight Night cards, UFC Vegas 33 does have a former UFC champion set to be in action during the prelims, and an inaugural one at that.
While Valentina Shevchenko has grown into one of the promotion's most dominant champions, the division she rules over was only created in 2017. Its first champion was decided by way of The Ultimate Fighter 26. In the final, Nicco Montano faced UFC veteran Roxanne Modaferri. The Arizona-born flyweight secured a unanimous decision victory over 'The Happy Warrior' and had UFC gold wrapped around her waist in just her sixth professional fight.
But in the nearly four years since, the former champ has made just one walk to the octagon. Montano was set to defend her title for the first time at UFC 228 against Shevchenko, but weight-cutting complications led to her withdrawal and she was stripped of the belt. A six-month USADA suspension soon after was followed by a defeat to Julianna Pena in the summer of 2019.
Given the dream start she had in the UFC, the 32-year-old will look to begin another rise to the top and show that she can compete as part of t the now-stronger women's roster.
#3. Orion Cosce - UFC welterweight
Since Orion Cosce secured a contract in the UFC with a third-round TKO victory over Matt Dixon on Dana White's Contender Series last year, his debut has been highly anticipated.
Unbeaten in seven professional fights, Cosce's perfect 7-0 record includes six knockouts and one submission. He'll be looking to maintain his 100% finishing rate when he enters the octagon with Philip Rowe at this weekend's event.
His brother Louis Cosce, who earned a contract on the same DWCS episode, made an unsuccessful debut at UFC 255 last year. In a crazy fight for as long as it lasted, the younger Cosce brother was finished by Sasha Palatnikov in the final round. Orion will look to be more successful in his own first octagon appearance.
The relentless onslaught of punches in the crucifix to a helpless Dixon on DWCS showed why 'Galaxy' is so highly regarded. Taking onboard his brother's debut experience and looking to impress on his own, Orion Cosce will certainly be one to watch this weekend.
#2. Melsik Baghdasaryan - UFC featherweight
Another exciting fighter set to make his promotional debut at UFC Vegas 33 is Melsik Baghdasaryan. The Armenian featherweight impressed against Dennis Buzukja on DWCS last year and secured a contract with a unanimous decision victory. Across his five wins, his DWCS appearance represented his first decision win and first professional fight to go beyond the opening round.
His four previous wins, which all came consecutively under the promotional banners of Gladiator Challenge and Lights Out Xtreme Fighting, saw him record first-round knockouts every time. Heading into his chance to earn a UFC contract, 'The Gun' had secured his two previous wins in under 10 seconds. He'll look to bring that level of devastating striking to the octagon when he faces fellow debutant Colin Anglin this weekend.
The 28-year-old is a year younger than Baghdasaryan but boasts three more wins. The American also has one defeat in MMA, which came in his second bout. With five KO/TKO wins, Anglin is sure to match his opponent's explosive striking on Saturday.
Anglin is one to watch, Baghdasaryan is one to watch, and this fight is one to watch.
#1. Sean Strickland - UFC middleweight
One of the top names on this weekend's card is Sean Strickland. His rise towards 185-pound title contention will hit a sizable block in the form of perennial contender Uriah Hall in this weekend's main event.
Strickland has only lost to the best. At welterweight, 'Tarzan' lost to Santiago Ponzinibbio and the current champion Kamaru Usman. Aside from that, a spinning wheel kick knockout against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos is the only other blemish on his impressive record.
After a two-year layoff following a motorcycle accident, Strickland returned to middleweight in 2020, defeating Jack Marshman, highly-touted rising star Brendan Allen and top Polish 185-pounder Krzysztof Jotko. Having risen to eleventh spot in the rankings and extended his winning streak to four, Strickland will be looking to have his arm raised this weekend in his first UFC headliner against Hall.
Not only is Strickland one to watch for his talent inside the cage, he's also a name to look out for this weekend because of his entertaining comments and constant talking during his bouts.
