UFC Fight Night returns to the big screen with an exciting card featuring emerging and elite talents alike.
When: Saturday, June 25, 10:00 p.m. ET
Where: UFC Apex, Enterprise, Nevada
Watch: ESPN2 and ESPN+
Carlos Ulberg vs. Tafon Nchukwi Prediction
Both fighters are explosive and will hunt the knockout; each has improved lately, so the fight should be closer than any other until a knockout inevitably comes.
Best bet: Carlos Ulberg (+100)
Shayilan Nuerdanbieke vs. T.J. Brown Prediction
Brown has been in a better run of form since he had issues making weight in previous fights, and with his body of work, he has the upper hand over Nuerdanbieke.
Best bet: T.J. Brown (-215)
Raulian Paiva vs. Sergey Morozov Prediction
Paiva struggled to make weight for past fights and ultimately moved up to the 135-pound division, where he is taking on a fighter in Morozov that has competed in entertaining bouts but found himself on the losing side more often than the winning one lately.
Best bet: Raulian Paiva (+116)
JP Buys vs. Cody Durden Prediction
Neither fighter has produced their best stuff lately, so the weekend match is a chance for each to recapture their past glory and set themselves on the right path.
Best bet: JP Buys (-120)
Brian Kelleher vs. Mario Bautista Prediction
Kelleher is very experienced at 35 years old but is coming off of his first-ever two-fight losing streak, while Bautista has shown promise and will look to tack on to the career-worst streak.
Best bet: Brian Kelleher (+144)
Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Jinh Yu Frey Prediction
Frey struggled after first joining the UFC but is coming off of two decisive victories, while Demopolous has been a consistent force in the division and should be back at home after a loss in a heavier weight class.
Best bet: Frey (-250)
Chris Curtis vs. Rodolfo Vieira Prediction
Chris Curtis (-138) vs. Rodolfo Vieira (+108)
The first fight on the main card between Curtis and Vieira presents an interesting clash in both style and circumstance.
Curtis is looking for his third-straight UFC victory coming off of a tremendous 2021 MMA campaign, where he earned four wins in seven months before later securing a first-round knockout in a late-notice fight.
Vieira is a world-champion jiu-jitsu fighter who rebounded from his first loss last year and will be tested heavily by his upcoming opponent.
Best bet: Rodolfo Vieira (+108)
Nate Maness vs. Umar Nurmagomedov Prediction
Nate Maness (+600) vs. Umar Nurmagomedov (-1100)
This early-card fight has a chance to be the most exciting of the entire night; Maness is an impressive 14-1 and 3-0 in the Octagon and has increased in popularity for his ability to overcome the odds as he continues to surge up the 135-pound ladder; Nurmagomedov, the younger cousin of former champion Khabib, has had the opposite sort of stigma, as the mass excitement attached to his name has caused him to fall under tons of pressure, though he is 14-0 as a professional fighter.
The winner will continue their excellent ascendency in one of the most competitive UFC divisions, the bantamweight.
Best bet: Umar Numagomedov (-1100)
Thiago Moises vs. Christos Giagos Prediction
Thiago Moises (+210) vs. Christos Giagos (-280)
Both fighters in this match had impressed enough to earn fights against top-drawer opponents, where both struggled. This fight offers a chance for each man to get back on the right path and reenter the conversation as one of the better and improving lightweights in the UFC.
Best Bet: Thiago Moises (-280)
Josh Parisian vs. Alan Baudo Prediction
Josh Parisian (-104) vs. Alan Baudo (-120)
Parisian has not shown his best stuff since elevating to the Octagon, a disappointing truth for a fighter that impressed in Dana White’s Contender Series.
He is now 14-5 overall but just 1-2 in the UFC; his opponent in Baudo has also been in poor form since dropping a late-entry fight to Aspinall in late 2020. A former training partner of Cyril Gaine, Baudo, just like Parisian, is desperate for a win to get his career back on track.
Best Bet: Josh Parisian (-104)
Neil Magny vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov Prediction
Neil Magny (+300) vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov (-440)
Magny is tied with Georges St-Pierre for the most wins in UFC welterweight history (19), so his experience will be one of his biggest assets.
Rakhmonov, meanwhile, is 3-0 in his UFC appearances and has a professional record of 15-0— his last fight against Carlston Harris ended in a first-round stoppage, and he heads into the fight on a tremendous run.
Although there are seven years of age separating the two men, each will benefit significantly from a win, whether that be Magny solidifying his spot within the top 10 or Rakhmonov moving into that conversation.
Best Bet: Shavkat Rakhmonov (-440)
Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mateusz Gamrot Prediction
Arman Tsarukyan (-330) vs. Mateusz Gamrot (+240)
The winner of this lightweight bout could soon resurface in title conversations as the two ascending fighters look to stake their claim in the division.
Tsarukyan has won five straight victories since pushing Islam Makhachev to a decision three years ago, while Gamrot has handily won his last three fights since also losing his promotional debut.
The two men are extremely gifted technically and will look to dissect their opponents’ defense rather than straight-up bullying their way through it— regardless of who wins between the two, who are currently ranked next to each other, both should be players in the division for quite a while.
Best bet: Arman Tsarukyan (-330)
