UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Strickland Preview

Jack Hermanson and Sean Strickland will lock horns in the UFC Vegas 47 main event on Saturday night at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. Punahele Soriano goes up against Nick Maximov in an all-American co-main event.

Swedish middleweight, Jack Hermanson, is coming off a decisive unanimous decision win over Edmen Shahbazyan in his last outing. “The Joker” has had and up and down past couple of years, he has managed to be able to put together a run of wins since 2019. He has the chance to start a run when he goes to battle with wild man Sean Strickland.

Speaking of winning streaks, Strickland has been racking up some wins of his own and comes into this fight unbeaten in his last five. Strickland is known for his outrageous opinions and wild personality outside the cage, inside the cage he is a very talented athlete. Strickland loves to stand and bang and it’ll be no different in this main event with his Swedish counterpart. He will be coming up against Hermansson who is an elite grappler.

It’s pretty simple to break down this fight. Hermansson won’t want to play around all too much on the feet with a solid striker like Strickland. The entries into the takedown for Hermansson here will be super important, and a key to his success in this battle. Strickland, who does fancy himself on the mat, will also know his best route to victory is creating a stand-up battle. whoever is successful in implementing their respective gameplans will be the ones who get their hands raised.

Some more middleweight action is set to take place in the co-main event. Heavy hitting middleweight Punahele Soriano, who has picked up 7 finishes in 8 wins. Soriano lost his first professional fight in his last outing against Brendan Allen. Punahele takes on undefeated, fellow American, Nick Maximov at 185-pounds. Maximov picked up a decision win on his UFC debut at UFC 266 after winning himself a contract on the Contender Series in 2020.

Undefeated Uzbekistan phenom Shavkat Rakhmanov, who has 14 wins, all finishes, will go up against Caelston Harris in the welterweight division. Harris, who was born in Guyana, has won his last five and is 2-0 inside the octagon. “Smilin” Sam Alvey is without a win in his last seven takes on short notice replacement, Brendan Allen. After a devastating knockout loss against Chris Curtis, Allen will be hungry to get back into the win column, Alvey desperately needs a win. Big fight for both in the light-heavyweight.

Tresean Gore and Bryan Battle will throw down on what will be the forth middleweight contest of the main card. Battle won The Ultimate Fighter Season 28, beating Gilbert Urbina in the finale. His dance partner, Tresean Gore was beaten on the show by Urbina but remains undefeated after three fights. “Juicy J” Julian Erosa looks to build upon his submission win over Charles Jourdain, Steven Peterson will stand across from him off the back of a unanimous decision win over Chase Hooper. That featherweight contest opens up the main card.

On the prelims section of the card a bantamweight showdown is set to headline when Miles Johns third win on the bounce when he takes on John Castaneda. Coming off an impressive knockout over Eddie Wineland, Castaneda is looking for his second win under the UFC banner. Canadian featherweight Hakeem Dawodu squares off against Mike Trizano in what should be a very entertaining affair. Fellow Canadian, Marc-André Barriault will face off with Chidi Njokuani at 185-pounds.

Alexis Davis will make it three in a row for Canadian fight fans as she goes to battle with Julija Stoliarenko in the women’s bantamweight division. Phillip Rowe is 1-1 since joining the UFC in 2019, he will come up against Jason Witt in the 205-pound division. Jailton Almeida takes on Danilo Marques in what will be an all-Brazilian battle. The first fight of the evening will ba a flyweight scrap between Malcolm Gordon and Denys Bondar.

Main Card (BT Sports / ESPN+, 9pm GMT)

Middleweight: Jack Hermansson vs. Sean Strickland

Middleweight: Punahele Soriano vs. Nick Maximov

Welterweight: Shavkat Rakhmanov vs. Carlston Harris

Middleweight: Sam Alvey vs. Brendan Allen

Middleweight: Tresean Gore vs. Bryan Battle

Featherweight: Julian Erosa vs. Steven Peterson

Preliminary Card (BT Sports / ESPN+, 12am GMT)

Bantamweight: Miles Johns vs. John Castaneda

Featherweight: Hakeem Dawodu vs. Michael Trizan

Middleweight: Chidi Njokuani vs. Marc-André Barriault

Women’s Bantamweight: Alexis Davis vs. Julija Stoliarenko

Light Heavyweight: Jailton Almeida vs. Danilo Marques

Welterweight: Jason Witt vs. Phillip Rowe

Flyweight: Malcolm Gordon vs. Denys Bondar