It is time to preview and predict UFC Vegas 97. The event will go down at the UFC Apex with ranked welterweights in the main event. (Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images)
UFC Vegas 97 Preview And Predictions
The UFC is back after a week’s layoff. The promotion returns with a fight night card that is a solid offering from the UFC Apex. The main event features highly-ranked welterweights jocking for the position. Meanwhile, one of the best prospects in the UFC women’s flyweight division takes on a former champion in the co-main event. The remainder of the card includes fan-friendly scraps.
Join Vendetta Sports Media as we preview and predict the UFC Vegas 97 main card. You can find our prediction records below.
James: 92-70
Garrett: 94-68
Jerry: 77-68
Anthony: 97-65
Trevor Peek vs. Yamal Ashmouz- Lightweight Bout
The UFC Vegas 97 main card opens with a lightweight bout between Trevor Peek and Yamal Ashmouz. Peek has gained recognition in the UFC because he fights like a madman . That has led him to a 2-2 UFC record. Ashmouz sits at 1-1 and has shown glimpses of being an entertaining fighter.
Peek’s more important traits are his power, cardio, and strength. This base helps him mask his technical deficiencies. If he is not the better fighter, he still has a chance to win with these tools. In addition, it only adds to his ability to make entertaining scraps. As far as skills go, Peek throws a ton of striking volume and looks to hit his opponents with big strikes. It should also be noted that he has shown a willingness to offensively wrestle at times.
Ashnouz is shorter for the UFC lightweight division. As a result, he needs to get inside land strikes. That said, he throws hard and has knockout power. It does not take him many strikes to deal serious damage. My concern with that is he is not great at crashing the distance which limits the chances he gets to land big shots.
The UFC Vegas 97 main card opener is hard to fight to call. It should be a sensational bout from an entertainment perspective, but it is hard to have a confident pick in either direction. I will lean toward Peek because he has found success in tough dogfights. I will take Peek by decision .
Garrett: Peek via TKO
Jerry: Peek via KO/TKO
Anthony: Peek via KO/TKO
No. 11 Matt Schnell vs. No. 15 Cody Durden -Bantamweight Bout
James: At UFC Vegas 97, Matt Schnell will fight Cody Durden. This bout came together on short notice. Durden is stepping in for an injured Alessandro Costa. The short-notice nature of this bout led to this pair of ranked flyweights competing at bantamweight. The concern with Durden stepping in on short-notice is that he suffered a knockout loss less than two months ago. On the other side of the equation, Schnell has struggled recently as he sits at 1-3 in his last four fights.
Schnell has a lot of offensive skills. This can be seen in his willingness to engage in elongated striking exchanges. On the ground, he also has legitimate submission skills. The problem is that his durability is gone. Schnell’s recent losing skid is because of his waning chin. This does not bode well with his aggressive offensive approach.
Durden is a fighter who loves to push a grueling pace. Despite not having sensational cardio, he is more than willing to get in a dog fight and work through the fatigue. In most bouts, he can drag the fight to deep water because of his wrestling offense and striking volume. Overall, he can land a lot of strikes and takedowns over three rounds.
This UFC Vegas 97 bout previews to be an action-packed fight while it lasts. This matchup features two fighters willing to push the action. That forced me to side with Durden because he holds a massive durability edge. Schnell is capable of landing a knockout or submission in this fight; however, it is difficult to be confident in either outcome when Durden will likely land powerful strikes early. I will take Durden by first-round knockout .
James: At UFC Vegas 97, Steve Garcia will fight Kyle Nelson. Garcia and Nelson both struggled early in their UFC careers, but they both made improvements and got hot. Garcia started his promotional tenure at 1-2 before winning three consecutive fights. Nelson started 1-4-1 but currently sits on a three-fight win streak. The winner of this bout will take a further step away from their disappointing start and add another victory to their resume.
Garcia is a violent fighter who puts himself in danger in the hopes of putting his opponent in worse danger. This often results in crazy fights that end in a knockout. In recent outings, he has been surviving in those exchanges and landing big strikes. Once he has an opponent hurt, he will pressure them until he gets the stoppage. Furthermore, he never quits and finds a way to survive if he gets hurt.
Nelson struggled early in his UFC run because of his cardio. We have seen him greatly change his approach to MMA to mask his cardio deficiencies. Now, his offensive output focuses much more on jabs, leg kicks, and body kicks. In addition, he has added more clinch work and grappling. This approach is much better for his cardio in comparison to be previous gameplans that often centered around massive hooks.
In this UFC Vegas 97 preview, I favor Garcia. I expect him to be able to push the pace against Nelson. I doubt Nelson can stick to his recent game plans against Garcia. If Garcia pushes the pace early, Nelson should fight back. In those exchanges, I have more faith in Garcia being the fight to land a knockout shot. If he doesn’t he will have the cardio advantage in the later rounds. I will take Garcia by second-round knockout .
James: The UFC Vegas 97 co-main event features a women’s flyweight bout between Jessica Andrade and Natalia Silva. Andrade is a former champion. Although, she won her title at strawweight. This bout is at flyweight. Overall, the 32-year-old is one of the longest-tenured women’s fighters on the roster. At 17-10, she has high-level experience across two weight classes. Silva is one of the best prospects in the women’s flyweight division. At 5-0, she has looked sensational in her short UFC tenure.
Andrade has a ton of power. If she can consistently land offensive strikes, she hurts opponents. This is usually accomplished with big hooks. At times, she will also mix in grappling to find success.
Silva is a sensational striker with a ridiculous amount of tools. In striking exchanges, she has a bunch of great kicks and solid boxing in the pocket. Additionally, she will mix her hands and kicks in combinations, which she accomplishes with speed and accuracy.
The UFC Vegas 97 co-main event favors Silva. I am very high on Silva. One of my few concerns is that she is small for the division. That will present her issues eventually; however, Andrade competes at strawweight as well as flyweight. In this fight, Silva will be the bigger fighter. That is rare for her. I expect that to help Silva stay on the outside and punish Andrade with counters. Eventually, I expect the damage to add up and finish the fight. I will take Silva by second-round knockout .
No. 6 Gilbert Burns vs. No. 8 Sean Brady- Welterweight Bout
James: The UFC Vegas 96 main event features a welterweight bout between Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady. Burns is a former title challenger who has had a lengthy professional career. In 22 promotional bouts, he holds a 17-5 record. At 38 years old, he is looking to hold his spot in the upper portion of the welterweight rankings. Burns is a former highly-touted prospect. That hyped dyed down after a loss to current champion Belal Muhammad. In hindsight, that loss has not aged poorly. Regardless, he is still 6-1 in the UFC. A win over Burns would help him elevate up the ranks.
Burns is a high-level BJJ practitioner who made the switch to MMA. That can be seen in his elite submission skills and strong overall grappling skills. In the striking realm, he is a powerful fighter with dangerous counters.
Brady is a grappling specialist as well. The difference is his grappling skills are predominantly centered around MMA. This can be seen in how he sets up his takedowns and controls from the top position. Brady excels at flowing from position to position to maintain control while advancing when possible. On the feet, he is not as advanced but he can land solid jabs and has powerful hooks. At times, he lands strong kicks. The UFC Vegas 97 main event previews as a tough fight to call. This is a matchup between two highly respected grapplers. In turn, we should see many competitive exchanges. Ultimately, I trust Brady to control positions for long periods because of his strength and size advantages. In a bout that has a lot of technical proficiency on both sides, that could be what sets Brady apart. I will take Brady by decision .
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