The Apex Center in Las Vegas will once again hold a UFC Fight Night. This weekend’s main event takes place in the light heavyweight division as the hard-hitting Thiago Santos takes on the up-and-coming Magomed Ankalaev. These are two monsters in the light heavyweight division that no one wants to face. Overall, this is a very solid card all around with a lot of great fights and fighters. With that being said, here is a breakdown of UFC Fight Night: Santos vs Ankalaev.

The Main Event: Thiago Santos vs Magomed Ankalaev

Santos is one of the most feared power hitters to ever grace the octagon. 11 out of Santos’s 14 UFC victories have ended in KO. His overall record is 22-9 with 16 finishes in his career. Santos has beaten the likes of Jan Blachowicz, Anthony Smith, and Johnny Walker. He even had a split decision loss to Jon Jones where Santos suffered an injury to his knee. Santos is as experienced as it comes. In his twenty-two UFC appearances, he’s even shared the octagon with insane opponents like Glover Texiera, Gegard Mousasi, and Aleksandar Rakic. Santos is always one punch away from ending a fight.

Standing alongside is a fighter who’s almost been perfect every second he’s been in the octagon. Ankalaev’s one loss in his career came in his UFC debut against Paul Craig. Ankalaev was dominating that fight until Craig made him submit to an armbar in the very last second of the fight. Besides that one hiccup to a very talented Craig, Ankalaev has been perfect in the octagon. He holds a record of 16-1 with nine of those victories ending in KO. Ankalaev holds victories over Volkan Oezdemir, Nikita Krylov, and Ion Cutelaba. His knockout victory over Cutelaba is one of the most violent knockouts ever produced in the lightweight division. Ever since then the UFC has struggled to find Ankalaev opponents. However, he got a man just as scary as him this Saturday.

Fight of the Night Prediction: Drew Dober vs Terrance McKinney

This is a fight that came together last second. However, it is a blessing in disguise. These are not only two lightweights who are very close to cracking the top fifteen. These are two fighters who are also very exciting to watch. Dober trains with Justin Gaethje every day at Elevation Fight Team. So it makes sense that he likes to have an exciting fight. Dober has a record of 23-11 and he’s ended 16 of his fights by finish; 11 being by knockout. Dober has gone against some of the best in the division, such as Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush. He’s also delivered banger fights against Brad Riddell, Alexander Hernandez, and Nasrat Haqparsat.

Just as exciting as Dober, if not more, is the twenty-seven-year-old McKinney. In McKinney’s debut, he knocked out Matt Frevola in just seven seconds! In his very next fight, he dominated Fares Ziam and submitted him in the first round. To follow up those performances, he took a Dober fight on short notice. McKinney is simply on fire right now. If that’s not enough to be impressed, he has a record of 12-3, ALL of his fights ending by the finish. McKinney is the real deal. This is a fight that is bound to be fireworks.

Performance of the Night Prediction: Sodiq Yusuff

Yusuff is 11-2, with six of his fights ending by knockout. At just 28 years old, Yusuff finds himself ranked twelfth in the UFC featherweight division. This weekend he finds himself against the fifteenth-ranked Alex Caceres. Yusuff has beaten great competition in Andre Fili and Gabriel Benitez. His only slip-up in the UFC was his most recent bout against potential title contender Arnold Allen. Yusuff has a winnable redemption fight in his next bout. A Performance of the night effort would help Yusuff get back on the track he wants to be on.

One name to watch (main card): Alex Pereira

Everyone will have their TVs turned on when Pereira comes onto the screen. Pereira is a very talented kickboxer. In kickboxing, he was able to knock out Israel Adesanya! That was the only time Adesanaya has ever been knocked out in his fighting career. In MMA he holds a record of 4-1. To no one’s surprise, all four of his victories have come via knockout. His UFC debut was won from a jumping knee. The fight before, he connected with a left hook that left his opponent unconscious for five minutes! Pereira is as powerful and as scary as it comes. If he keeps knocking out his opponents, he may get another shot at Adesanya. 

One name to watch (prelims): Javid Basharat

I’m a sucker for a guy who can finish a fight, and that is exactly what Basharat does. He is 11-0 in MMA with all eleven of his victories coming from a finish. This will be Basharat’s UFC debut, as he won his UFC contract in the most recent series of Dana White’s contender series. Basharat is so good at all aspects of MMA. He can strike and he can wrestle. That is probably why he has an almost even split of knockouts and submissions. This weekend he finds himself in a fight against the exciting Trevin Jones. A big performance from Basharat may be on the way.

Predcitions

Last week/All time: 7-6

Magomed Ankalaev defeats Thiago Santos 

Marlon Morares defeats Song Yadong 

Sodiq Yusuff defeats Alex Caceres

Karl Roberson defeats Khalil Rountree Jr

Drew Dober defeats Terrance McKinney

Alex Pereira defeats Bruno Silva

Prelims

Matthew Semelsberger defeats AJ Fletcher

JJ Aldrich defeats Gillian Robertson 

Javid Basharat defeats Trevin Jones

Kamuela Kirk defeats Damon Jackson

Miranda Maverick defeats Sabina Mazo 

Dalcha Lungiambula defeats Cody Brundage

Guido Cannetti defeats Kris Moutinho

Azamat Murzaknov defeats Tafon Nchukwi

All stats are from ESPN.com

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