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Another weekend, another APEX card as the UFC returns on Saturday for UFC Vegas 86. In the main event, Joe Pyfer finally gets his chance to break into the middleweight top 15, while Jack Hermansson does his best to hold on to his perennial spot in the rankings by rebuffing another up-and-comer. There are also three more middleweight matchups on Saturday, along with a host of other fights, so let’s get to it.

As always, all odds are courtesy of our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Straight Bets

Brad Tavares +200

Here’s the thing about Brad Tavares: He’s not bad! Tavares is one of the all-time middleweight-y middleweights. Just a dude who is solid everywhere, impressive nowhere, but he’s going to hang around and fraud-check all the up-and-comers hoping to break into the top 15. And while I personally adore watching Gregory Rodrigues and his brand of defensively questionable, strategically poor fighting, he’s also the sort of dude who gets checked by a Tavares. Rodrigues is the superior grappler, but he probably can’t score takedowns and might not even try. He hits hard, but Tavares is cleaner and durable. There is very much a world where Tavares chops the legs down and Rodrigues gasses hard, so this is a great price.

Rodolfo Vieira -115

I’m really contradicting myself with this one. In the above fight, I’m fading the elite grappler with questionable cardio in favor of the rock-solid gatekeeper. In this one, I’m backing the grappler, but for one very specific reason: Armen Petrosyan is not good. Now, he’s not bad, but he’s no Brad Tavares, especially when it comes to the wrestling. Petrosyan is not a good defensive wrestler, and Vieira won’t fall in love with his hands like “Robocop” does, meaning this will go the floor.

Once it’s there, call me crazy, but I’m riding with the umpteen time BJJ world champion to get the win.

Photo by Alejandro Salazar/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Prop Bets

Joe Pyfer To Win By KO/TKO/DQ +100

I have a little bit of trepidation about this one, because for all the hype behind him, Pyfer is still quite raw. Extremely powerful, and he hits like a hammer, but there’s a lot of technical refinement to be done. Add to that, we’ve never really seen his cardio tested, and this fight is five rounds. His style doesn’t seem to be one that does well as the fight drags on, and I’ve got questions. That being said, sometimes you’ve gotta ride the wave.

Hermansson has been a staple of this division for what feels like an eternity, but that means Father Time is catching up to him, and I expect Pyfer will, too. But instead of laying the juice on Joe straight up, take this prop as eight of Pyfer’s 12 career wins are by KO and Hermansson has been iced 3 times, including his most recent bout against Roman Dolidze.

Dan Ige To Win By Decision +165

Speaking of divisional staples, Dan Ige has lived in the featherweight top-15 for the last five years, and I see no reason why that will change after this weekend. Andre Fili is a fun fighter, but one who has a clearly defined ceiling, and Ige is simply above that.

Moreover, the fight lines up well for Ige. Ige basically only loses to fighters who will repeatedly take him down and control him (he gave up 14 takedowns to Bryce Mitchell and Movsar Evloev combined). While Fili can wrestle, that’s not his game. This will largely be contested on the feet, where Ige has a little more craft, a little more pop, and a lot better defense. The tread (or increasing lack thereof) on Fili’s tires gives me some pause, but I still like this better than the juice of a straight bet.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Parlay of the Week

Bolaji Oki -198 + Carlos Prates -258

Your weekly Contender Series special. Both Oki and Prates are making their UFC debuts from the most recent season of the feeder program, and in my write-up on the season, I marked both of them as “Three-And-D Rotational Players.” Basically, guys who can be fun contributors to UFC shows, but who lack the upside to emerge as contenders. So what else am I supposed to do in a situation like this? I’ve got to tie them together for a parlay!

Is it less than ideal that Oki had a last-minute replacement? Sure. But that can’t be helped for now, and Prates, at least, is highly likely to show out against the less than durable Trevin Giles.

Parlay these two bets together for +108 odds.

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Long Shot of the Week

Ihor Potieria To Win By Submission +1100

I’m really reaching with this one. Potieria is not good, but then again, neither is Robert Bryczek. Potieria is also stepping in on short notice, but again, he’s not good so that doesn’t make a ton of difference. He’s also making his 185 pounds debut, and that actually might work out in his favor as he might be a little more durable competing at middleweight instead of 205. Mostly though, this is an emotional hedge.

I will still never forgive the UFC for sending Shogun out, so Potieria could get a win. But if Potieria loses his fourth in the UFC and gets cut, then that was all really for nothing. At least if he makes something of himself, Shogun’s (figurative) death won’t have been in vain. And given that he has seven career submissions — and again, Bryczek isn’t good either — I’ll take a stab at this.

Wrap Up

Uo-and-down week last time out. Molly McCann running over Diana Belbita like that was not what I expected. On to the next.

Until next week, enjoy the fights, good luck, and gamble responsibly!

All information in this article is provided to readers of MMA Fighting for entertainment, news, and amusement purposes only. It is the responsibility of the reader to learn and abide by online gambling laws in their region before placing any online sports betting wagers.

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Sparring Session
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UFC

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

There’s been too much news and too many quotes lately — it’s time to get back to this column’s “weird and wild roots.”

Enter Dogfight Wild Tournament, a promotion in Spain that held their second event on Friday evening (Feb. 9, 2024) inside Tarraco Arena in Tarragona, Spain. Already, the promotion is making an impact by embracing the bizarre, promoting a variety of freak show fights. For example, the DWT2 event saw two vs. two fights, a no rules match, and something called a “Bloodsport Tournament,” which saw its combatants compete in the middle of a ramped platform where gravity forced the action.

The highlight, undoubtedly, was the three vs. one MMA fight at the top of the page (video courtesy, per usual, of MMA Twitter legend Caposa). In that bout, professional Light Heavyweight Eduardo Riego (7-2) went to battle opposite three smaller opponents, but unlike some freak show match ups of a similar variety, these smaller men approached the bout with a bit of strategy and know-how.

The trio swarmed Riego, tripping him to the floor right away. All three referees closed in as a knee seemed to drop Riego moments later, but he covered up and endured the storm. He found a couple moments to swing back, but mostly, Riego was getting walloped in the opening two minute round.

His fortunes changed early in the second when Riego wrapped up a guillotine choke, ignoring the punches of the other two men to put the caught athlete to sleep. This earned him a brief reprieve as the referees reset the bout, but Riego was nearly put in a rear naked choke when he tried to go on the offensive upon the restart.

In the third round, the comeback was completed in short fashion. Riego locked up another guillotine, and then in a one vs. one battle, there was no contest. The third tap came via rear naked choke … so does that now mean Riego stands with a 10-2 pro record? He earned it!

There’s plenty more chaos to be enjoyed, so check out the full event replay below:

Based on the seemingly large and enthusiastic crowd, I’m optimistic that this will not be the final time this column features Dogfight Wild Tournament clips. Fight Circus has some competition!

Insomnia

I want One Championship to succeed because their events are fun to watch and competition is a good thing, but anyone pretending they don’t do their fair share of sketchy business practices is delusional.

Charles Oliveira and Ian Garry are training together in Brazil.

Jack Shore has spent a lot of time at Bantamweight, and Joanderson Brito seems to be one of the strongest and biggest men at 145-pounds. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out!

Some fan art for Andre Fili ahead of his co-main event clash vs. Dan Ige tomorrow evening:

Have you signed?

One thing I’ll give Luke Rockhold credit for: he’s never been afraid to tell a story that doesn’t paint him in the best light.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

I’ve never seen this setup for a straight armlock. Love it!

A lovely slip and overhand from the Southpaw side:

Martin stayed composed amidst the chaos and did real damage in the clinch to slow down those wild flurries.

Random Land

Trippy!

Midnight Music: New wave, 1978

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin was forced to save streamer Sneako from former UFC middleweight champ Sean Strickland. And par for the course, Jake Paul found a way to get in the middle (at least online).

Strickland recently accepted an invitation from Sneako — a fellow Trump booster and notorious “red pill” social media guru — to box at the UFC Performance Institute. The YouTuber quickly found out that there is no going light when he puts on the gloves.

Sneako absorbed several hard punches from Strickland, prompting several people from outside the cage to throw in the towel. Strickland ignored them and continued to pummel away until Griffin intervened.

“That’s enough,” a concerned voice off-camera said. Check out the video below.

In the full video, Sneako is seen trying to hit Strickland at full speed, punching the body as the ex-UFC champ declares, “Let’s see the influencer.”

“Think if you knocked me out, how cool that would look,” Strickland said. “You could actually accomplish something by doing nothing.”

Sneako continues to fire punches as Strickland walks him down and taunts him.

“As we get closer to the three-minute mark, you’re going to about to feel a significant more amount of pain,” Strickland said. “It should be setting in right now that nothing you can do can hurt me, and this is a moment, that as you’re realizing you’re about to have a really bad f***** day in the next minute.”

Sneako continues to fire away with punches, albeit with little effect, as Strickland laughs at him. And, true to Strickland’s prediction, he has a really bad day at the end.

Sneako’s nose was bloodied by the time the punches stopped. But as Strickland later acknowledged, he didn’t hit the canvas and earned his respect.

There was at least one major influencer-turned-boxer who wasn’t impressed with Strickland’s performance: Paul. Naturally, Paul’s diss tweet included a challenge.

“You weren’t even able to drop someone with no experience while going all out,” Paul wrote. “You’re a horrid boxer that only picks on inexperienced people.

“I’ll fly you to PR and we can fight on camera,” he wrote. “If you win I’ll give you $ 1 million (half your net worth). But if you get dropped you have to get Betr tattooed on you. DM me. But just like paddy I’m guessing you’ll find a way to run.”

Strickland is one month removed from a title-losing fight against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297. The brash middleweight blamed his performance on a late-fight eye poke that he said robbed him of his vision. Du Plessis denied fouling his opponent and said that complaint wasn’t raised to him after the fight.

Strickland didn’t take long to respond to Paul, pointing out the influencer’s loss to Tommy Fury.

“You lost to a part time boxer,” he wrote. “Lmao……… don’t forget that…”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

And you thought all the crazy MMA fights were in Russia.

On Friday, Dogfight Wild Tournament 2nd Impact  — the brainchild of Spanish YouTuber Jordi Wild — delivered its second event inside the Tarraco Arena in Tarragona, Spain, and provided fight fans in the country with some absolutely insane moments. Featuring a no-rules fight, 2-on-2 MMA, a 5-on-1 “Last Survivor” bout, and a four-man “Bloodsport Tournament,” it all sounded like something out of a bad Jean-Claude Van Damme movie.

But the most exciting bit came in the main event during a 3-on-1 match between MMA veteran Eduardo Riego and three smaller fighters named Manuel, Ivan, and Tomas. The bout  — which was comprised of two-minute rounds  — started exactly how you would expect with the three smaller fighters immediately ganging up on Riego.

Things weren’t looking great for Riego, but the tide began to shift in the second round when he managed to get one of the three fighters belly-down on the canvas and sink in a rear-naked choke, forcing the referees to pause the action and remove them from the cage.

Though he made the odds a little more favorable, Riego still struggled with the 2-on-1 attack of his opponents.

However, round three is where sh*t got crazy.

Submitting one of his two remaining opponents with a mounted guillotine, Riego managed to turn the fight into a 1-on-1. From that point, it was just a matter of time. He immediately swarmed the last man standing and forced the tap out with less than a minute to go in the round via RNC to complete the comeback.

Following the contest, the defeated trio hoisted Riego up on their shoulders and paraded him around the ring.

The event also featured a tournament taking place on an elevated v-like structure reminiscent of the platform fighters competed on in Bloodsport  — a good Jean-Claude Van Damme movie.

If you want to witness all the insane action for yourself, you can watch the event in its entirety below:

LowKickMMA.com

For the second week in a row, the UFC Apex in Las Vegas will host Saturday’s UFC Vegas 86 fight card.  The event is headlined by a middleweight bout between Jack Hermansson and Joe Pyfer.  

Hermansson (23-8) is coming off a loss to tenth-ranked Roman Dolidze and hasn’t fought since December 2022.  He’s struggled to put together a win streak over the past five years stuck in a pattern of winning one and losing the next, but is ranked 11th in the division.   

Pyfer (12-2) is riding a five-fight winning streak finishing each of the five opponents.  His last loss came in 2020, and he’s only gone to a decision or the third round once in his career.  The match is a classic up and coming making waves taking on an older more experienced veteran.

Hermansson was the first to weigh in, tipping the scales at 185 pounds.  Pyfer weighed in second and came in at 185.5 pounds.

Two fighters missed weight for Saturday’s event.  Middleweight Ihor Potieria came in 1.5 pound heavy for his bout with Robert Bryczek.  Darius Flowers tipped the scale .25 pounds heavy for his lightweight bout with Michael Johnson.  Daniel Marcos weighed in .25 pounds heavy for his bantamweight fight with Aori Qileng but successfully made weight on his second attempt.    

UFC Vegas 86 Official Weigh-In Results

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

• Jack Hermansson (185) vs. Joe Pyfer (185.5)
• Andre Fili (146) vs. Dan Ige (146)
• Robert Bryczek (185.5) vs. Ihor Potieria (187.5)*
• Gregory Rodrigues (186) vs. Brad Tavares (186)
• Darrius Flowers (156.25)* vs. Michael Johnson (156)
• Armen Petrosyan (186) vs. Rodolfo Vieira (185.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)

• Trevin Giles (171) vs. Carlos Prates (171)
• Tim Cuanga (155) vs. Bolaji Oki (156)
• Bruna Brasil (115.5) vs. Loma Lookboonmee (115.5)
• Devin Clark (204.5) vs. Marcin Prachnio (204.5)
• Max Griffin (170.5) vs. Jeremiah Wells (171)
• Bogdan Guskov (205.5) vs. Zac Pauga (206)
• Hyder Amil (145.5) vs. Fernie Garcia (146)
• Daniel Marcos (136) vs. Aori Qileng (136)

*missed weight

UFC Vegas 86 Weigh-in Video

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts