The international flavour of the fight card is on show in the early part of the card, with six nationalities – United States, Canada, Belarus, Slovakia, Japan and Brazil represented across the four early preliminary card matchups.
Michelle Waterson-Gomez vs. Gillian Robertson
The featured UFC Fight Pass prelim sees two familiar faces from the womens’ strawweight division going head to head, as Michelle Waterson-Gomez takes on Gillian Robertson.
On paper, it looks as clear of a striker-verus-grappler matchup as you could find in the division, with Waterson-Gomez’s karate-based striking style offering a stark contrast from Robertson’s submission-heavy attack.
Waterson-Gomez is on a four-fight losing streak, while Robertson has won three of her last four, and it’ll be imperative for Waterson-Gomez to keep her distance and strike from range to avoid trouble on the mat. But her penchant for kicks may offer openings for Robertson, who may only need one takedown to secure victory here – the Canadian has more submission finishes than any female fighter in UFC history with seven.
If “The Savage” gets “The Karate Hottie” to the mat on Saturday night, number eight would seem likely.
Andrei Arlovski vs. Martin Buday
Competing in mixed martial arts isn’t conducive to a long athletic career. It’s tough, gritty and knockouts and injuries are commonplace. That danger level is even higher at heavyweight, where the chances of being separated from your consciousness are even higher.
All of the above makes Andrei Arlovski’s continued longevity all the more remarkable. The former UFC heavyweight champion faces hard-hitting Slovak Martin Buday on Saturday looking to secure the 35th victory of his professional MMA career. But, Arlovski is currently on a three-fight skid and, with Buday likely to be all fired up after suffering the first loss of his career last time out, his assignment at UFC 303 looks like a tough one.
Both men are experienced operators who have dragged fights all the way to the scorecards before, and this one could turn into another similar dogfight.
Rei Tsuruya vs. Carlos Hernandez
Undefeated Japanese flyweight prospect Rei Tsuruya has a massive stage for his UFC debut as he makes the walk to the Octagon for the first time as a UFC fighter this weekend.
Tsuruya earned his spot on the UFC roster after winning his way through the Road to UFC tournament, with a first-round TKO finish in February punching his ticket to the big stage.
Now he’ll face his first test, in the form of American Contender Series veteran Carlos Hernandez, who has alternated wins and losses through his first four appearances in the UFC to date.
Hernandez’s last appearance saw him lose out to a rising Japanese star in Tatsuro Taira. If history repeated itself again this weekend, Tsuryua could find himself on a similar trajectory in the UFC’s 125-pound division.
Ricky Simon vs. Vinicius Oliveira
The opening bout of the night features all-action bantamweight Ricky Simon against Contender Series graduate Vinicius Oliveira.
Simon loves to fight at a high pace and put pressure on his opponent, which could guarantee fireworks against a fighter who has claimed 16 of his 20 career wins via knockout.
Oliveira may be new to the UFC, but he already has a highlight-reel finish to his name, thanks to his flying-knee finish of Benardo Sopaj on his Octagon debut in March.
This is the sort of fight matchmakers put at the start of the card to get the hardcore fans in their seats early, and those Vegas fans who are settled in by the time these two throw down should be royally entertained.
