UFC Vegas 95 Preview And Predictions

UFC Vegas 95 Preview And Predictions

UFC Vegas 95 will go down at the UFC Apex. It is one of the lesser fight night events of the calendar year. If you are expecting top-tier MMA, this is not the event for you. Instead, this card offers a heavyweight main event, a featherweight co-main event, and one of the brightest young prospects from Dana White Contender Series.

Join Vendetta Sports Media as we preview and predict the UFC Vegas 95 main card. You can find our prediction records below.

James: 81-64

Garrett: 86-59

Anthony: 86-59

Jerry: 70-58

Toshiomi Kazama vs. Charalampos Grigoriou- Bantamweight Bout

James: The UFC Vegas 95 main card kicks off with a bantamweight bout between Toshiomi Kazama and Charalampos Grigoriou. This is a fight between two winless fighters. Kazama sits with a 0-2 UFC record while Grigoriou is 0-1. That makes a win paramount as both fighters are fighting for a roster spot.

Kazama is a submission grappler. In his career, six of his ten wins were submissions. If he is unable to find that submission, his path to victory is reduced to hoping a big swing lands in a chaotic striking exchange.

Grigoriou is a big bantamweight with power. He landed an impressive knockout victory on Dana White’s Contender Series appearance . If he can put his hands together and land big strikes, he can find success.

The UFC Vegas 95 main card opener preview favors Grigoriou. I am not a massive fan of either fighter, but Grigoriou is the much more skilled of the pair. I expect him to survive the wild grappling exchanges. It helps that he trains at Serra-Longo Fight Team. That provides optimism in his submission defense. More importantly, he is the much better striker and hits way harder. That should result in a knockout victory. I will take Grigoriou by first-round knockout .

Garrett: Grigoriou via TKO

Jerry: Grigoriou via KO/TKO

Anthony: Kazama via decision

No. 12 Yana Santos vs. No. 14 Chelsea Chandler- Women’s Bantamweight Bout

James: The UFC Vegas 95 main card includes a women’s bantamweight bout between Yana Santos and Chelsea Chandler. Santos has a 4-5 UFC record and is currently on a three-fight losing streak. At this point, she desperately needs a win. Chandler is 2-1 in the UFC. The problem is that she failed to make the 135-pound limit in her bantamweight debut. It will be crucial that she can make weight as her career continues.

This fight previews as one of the worst from the UFC Vegas 95 main card. It is not a particularly high-level fight either. In all likelihood, this will be a close decision. In that type of fight, I lean toward Chandler because she can swing close rounds with takedowns. It is not a fight that warrants an aggressive take on either side, however. I will take Chandler by decision .

Garrett: Chandler via decision

Jerry: Chandler via decision

Anthony: Santos via decision

Chris Gutierrez vs. Quang Le- Bantamweight Bout

James: At UFC Vegas 95, Chris Gutierrez will fight Quang Le. Gutierrez has found success in the UFC as he has tallied an 8-3-1 record in the promotion. That said, he is looking to regain some momentum as he has lost two of his last three fights. Albeit, those losses were against Pedro Munhoz and Song Yadong. Le is making his UFC debut in this fight. Originally, he was scheduled to fight on the upcoming season of Dana White’s Contender Series, but was able to skip the show by accepting this short-notice opportunity.

Gutierrez is one of the best leg kickers in the sport. It is undoubtedly his best weapon. The goal for Gutierrez is to stay at range and smoke his opponents with kicks. This quickly does damage and affects his opponent’s movement. Gutierrez does have some boxing skills, but it pales in comparison to his kicks and does not hold up against the division’s elite.

Le is a bantamweight with a muscular frame. This can result in a hook-reliant boxing style. That is not bad because Le throws tight shows and throws in combinations. Plus, he throws shots to the body. This is all done with power. Le will also mix some kicks into his striking approach. Overall, it is hard to gauge where Le sits because he has fought a low level of competition. At a minimum, his striking will present danger because of his power.

This UFC Vegas 95 preview favors Gutierrez’s. That should not come as a surprise as he is a fighter with UFC experience. It does not help that Le is taking this bout on short notice, but it would be a tough fight for him regardless. Gutierrez has only struggled against ranked opponents. In unranked matchups, most opponents fail to find an answer for his leg kicks and footwork. I expect that to be the case in this fight. I will take Gutierrez by decision.

Garrett: Le via decision

Jerry: Gutierrez via decision

Anthony: Gutierrez via decision

Danny Barlow vs. Nikolay Veretennikov- Welterweight Bout

James: In the UFC Vegas 95 feature bout, Danny Barlow will fight Nikolay Vertennikov. Barlow is one of the best prospects from Dana White’s Contender Series : Season Seven. In his UFC debut, he picked up a knockout victory over Josh Quinlan. Now, he looks to continue adding to his impressive start. Veretennikov is a short-notice replacement who is making his debut. In his MMA career, he is 12-4.

Barlow’s nickname, “LeftHand2God”, provides a lot of insight into his skills. In the southpaw stance, his left hand is lethal. Barlow can land this shot as a straight, hook, uppercut, and counter. This allows him to consistently land damaging strikes. In addition to his left hand, Barlow has a good jab, a solid kicking game, and explosive knees. It should also be noted that his weapons are backed by his size and athleticism. Barlow is six-foot-two with a 79-inch reach. The overall combination of size, reach, athleticism, power, and skill is sensational.

Veretnnikov is a powerful striker who likes to walk his opponents down. This helps him get his opponents to the fence where he can throw big strikes. This is mostly done with standard boxing. This has allowed him to pick up a lot of knockout wins on the regional scene.

This UFC Vegas 95 preview favors Barlow. The difference in length and athleticism will greatly favor LeftHand2God. I have a hard time seeing Veretnnikov walk Barlow down. If he can back Barlow up, it will force striking exchanges. That will give Barlow opportunities to land his counter skills. If Barlow controls the space, he can use his speed and length to land his left hand. This all leads to Barlow landing big shots on the feet. I will take Barlow by first-round knockout.

Garrett: Barlow via TKO

Jerry: Barlow via KO/TKO

Anthony: Barlow via KO/TKO

Damon Jackson vs. Chepe Mariscal- Featherweight Bout

James: The UFC Vegas 95 co-main event is a featherweight bout between Damon Jackson and Chepe Mariscal. Jackson has had a fairly long UFC run and currently has a 6-4-1 record in the promotion. Mariscal is a fairly fresh face in the UFC and quickly rattled off three consecutive wins in the promotion.

Jackson’s best skill is his grappling. At his peak, he can get the fight to the ground and rack up control time. On the feet, he can land long shots from the outside. That said, he is stiff and gets hit a decent amount.

Mariscal is a brawler who finds success in the pocket. On the inside, he will pressure opponents with a lot of boxing volume. This is successful because of his power. Occasionally, he will attempt takedowns as well.

The UFC Vegas 95 co-main event preview favors Mariscal. This is a good matchup. It will be interesting to see if Jackson can utilize his grappling. It is possible; however, Mariscal is not a slouch on the mat. As a result, I lean toward Mariscal defending Jackson’s grappling attempts and letting his hands fly in striking exchanges. I will take Mariscal by second-round knockout .

Garrett: Mariscal via decision

Jerry: Mariscal via decision

Anthony: Mariscal via KO/TKO

No. 8 Marcin Tybura vs. No. 9 Serghei Spivac- Heavyweight Rematch

James: The UFC Vegas 95 main event is a rematch between Marcin Tybura and Seghei Spivac. It is a bottom-barrel fight night main event, but that is the fight the UFC has put atop the docket. Tybura was the winner of the first fight which took place in 2020. It was a fairly one-sided decision win. In the time since, Tybura has gone 7-2 while Spivac has gone 6-2.

Tybura has found success in the heavyweight division with his grappling. This is seen in his top control. Plus, Tybura is willing to fight out of the clinch and keep his opponent up against the fence. If he is forced to strike, he operates best with jabs and kicks.

Spivac is also a grappler. The main path for him to get the fight to the ground is clinch takedowns. Once he lands takedowns, he uses mat returns to keep the fight to the ground and tire his opponents. This allows him to maintain control for long periods or hunt a finish.

The UFC Vegas 95 main event is a difficult fight to preview. Two very logical viewpoints could be applied to the fight. In the first fight, we saw a stylistic matchup that greatly favored Tybura. At the same time, Tybura is 38 years old while Spivac is 29 years old. That age difference should favor Spivac. In the time since their first fight, Spivac has been climbing toward his prime while Tybura has been slowing down. Ultimately, I lean toward the former. I believe Spivac could have improved over the past four years, but I do not think Tybura has regressed much. If that holds true, I have a hard time seeing Spivac make such drastic improvement that he can dominately outgrapple Tybura. I expect Tybura to win the striking and believe he can succeed in grappling exchanges. I will take Tybura by decision .

Garrett: Spivac via decision

Jerry: Tybura via decision

Anthony: Spivac via submission

***

CLICK HERE for more of our UFC/MMA content

Check out the Vendetta Shop

Subscribe to Vendetta’s YouTube

The post UFC Vegas 95 Preview And Predictions appeared first on Vendetta Sports Media .