UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green Preview

The UFC APEX in Las Vegas is the venue once more as Islam Makhachev takes on short notice replacement Bobby Green in the UFC Vegas 49 headliner.

Bobby Green is fresh off his emphatic victory against Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 271 just two weeks ago. Fans were calling for “King” to get a headlining slot after the fact, and the wait for that chance comes around sooner rather than later for Green. That being said this headline slot is a major task for the lightweight veteran as he comes up against the protege of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev.

Makhachev was gearing up for an encounter with Beneil Dariush, unfortunately Dariush picked up a bad ankle injury and the fight was scrapped. Bobby Green took the call and accepted the matchup staying true to his “anytime, any place, anyone” statement at the 271 press conference. Max respect must be given to Green, but this is a massive ask for him to get in there and be successful against this calibre of opponent.

Islam has not tasted defeat since 2015, he is a world class grappler and is developing an abundance of striking skills each time we see him in action. Green does not have the power to hurt his Russian rival on the feet, his jab is tricky and Bobby can be quiet evasive on the feet. I think he may cause Makhachev some early problems but as the fight progresses it will only fall into the hands of Islam in my opinion. I would expect the Russian to try his hand in the striking department with Green for a while, the takedown will eventually happen and that’s where I see this fight ending in favour of Makhachev. This will be a fun fight, I’m looking forward to watching, but all I can see is a straightforward win for Makhachev in the evenings main event.

Misha Cirkunov and Wellington Turman will faceoff in a middleweight contests which os marked down for the co-main event. Cirkunov is without a win in his last two trips to the cage having lost by knockout against Ryan Spann and being on the wrong end of a split decision against Krzysztof Jotko in 2021. His Brazilian adversary, Wellington Turman, was on the right end of a split decision in his last encounter, he got the nod over Sam Alvey to pick up his only win last year.

In what should be a fantastic fight, Arman Tsarukyan will go to battle with Joel Álvarez in a lightweight clash. Both are highly touted prospects at 155 pounds. Tsarukyan lost on his UFC debut against Islam Makhachev, since that defeat he has piled up four wins on the bounce and and pulled off a devastating knockout over Christos Giagos last time out. Joel Álvarez has had recent battles with the scales as he has missed weight in two of his last three fights.

The Spaniard can’t afford another miss or he may be forced to move up to the 170-pound division. Apart from that, the run Álvarez has put together in his UFC tenure so far has been sensational, we seen him take out Joe Duffy with ease in 2020 and more recently “El Fenomeno” blitzed Thiago Moisés in the very first round. This fight absolutely can not disappoint and is up there as one of the fights of the card, be sure not to miss this one.

Tsarukyan will be joined on the main card by fellow Armenian, Armen Petrosyan, as he squares off with Gregory Rodrigues in a middleweight clash. Also on the main card is some women’s flyweight action as Ji Yeon Kim looks to get one over Priscila Cachoeira, both women tasted defeat in their last bouts and will certainly be eager to have their hands raised when they go toe-to-toe on Saturday night.

When Chilean lightweight Ignacio Bahamondes last fought he pulled off a masterful spinning wheel kick over Roosevelt Roberts. The finish was up there as one on the best knockouts of 2021 and Bahamondes has the chance to impress once more when he takes on Zhu Rong. At the age of just 21, Rong has already made the walk to compete an astonishing 22 times. The Chinese born athlete got his first UFC over Brandon Jenkins in his last outing, Rong has 18 wins with 16 finishes and will be eager to add to that in the featured preliminary fight.

As UFC debuts go, Terrance McKinney’s was uber impressive. The lightweight stand out, who has battled back from drug addiction, notched up a seven second knockout over Matt Frevola at UFC 263. After this fight fell through late last year, McKinney will get his second chance to compete inside the octagon when he squares off with Farés Ziam. The Frenchman, who is riding a two fight win-streak, has had his hand raised in recent years against Jamie Mullarkey and Luigi Vendramini. McKinney is a finisher and I expect some good action in this lightweight clash.

In the women’s strawweight division, Jinh Yu Frey will battle it out with Hannah Goldy. In 2021, Frey picked up two wins over Gloria de Paula and Ashley Yoder, both by way of decision. Alejandro Pérez will look to try get one over on Jonathan Martinez in the 135-pound division. Pérez snactched an armbar victory over Johnny Eduardo in his last outing. A win over Thomas Almeida is the most impressive scalp of Martinez’s career, he took out Zviad Lazishvili last October on the judges scorecards.

In the welterweight division, Ramiz Brahimaj is looking to bounce back after a disappointing defeat to UFC veteran, Court McGee. Standing across the cage from Brahimaj will be fellow American, Micheal Gillmore. After competing on The Ultimate Fighter Season 29, Gilmore lost on his UFC debut to Andre Petroski. Both welterweights will be looking to get back inside the win column. A flyweight battle will kick off the card when Victor Altamirano tackles Carlos Hernández, both guys came through the Contender Series in 2021 and both are set to make their UFC debut.

Main Card (BT Sports / ESPN+)

Catchweight (160 lb): Islam Makhachev (21-1) vs. Bobby Green (29-12-1)

Middleweight: Misha Cirkunov (15-7) vs. Wellington Turman (17-5)

Women’s Flyweight: Ji Yeon Kim (9-4-2) vs. Priscila Cachoeira (10-4)

Lightweight: Arman Tsarukyan (17-2) vs. Joel Álvarez (19-2)

Middleweight: Armen Petrosyan (6-1) vs. Gregory Rodrigues (11-3)

Preliminary Card (BT Sports / ESPN+)

Lightweight: Zhu Rong (19-4) vs. Ignacio Bahamondes (12-4)

Lightweight: Terrance McKinney (11-3) vs. Farès Ziam (12-3)

Women’s Strawweight: Jinh Yu Frey (11-6) vs. Hannah Goldy (6-2)

Bantamweight: Alejandro Pérez (22-8-1) vs. Jonathan Martinez (14-4)

Welterweight: Ramiz Brahimaj (9-4) vs. Micheal Gillmore (6-4)

Flyweight: Victor Altamirano (10-1) vs. Carlos Hernández (7-1)