UFC 310 is ready to go down from the T-Cell Enviornment in Las Vegas on Saturday. And the cardboard is stacked.
Flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja is ready to defend his belt in opposition to a UFC debutant: RIZIN standout Kai Asakura. The co-main occasion will see undefeated welterweights Shavkat Rakhmanov battle Ian Machado Garry in a possible title eliminator the place the winner would battle champion Belal Muhammad subsequent.
The remainder of the primary card is rounded out by a heavyweight showdown between Cyril Gane and Alexander Volkov with main repercussions; featherweight grapplers Bryce Mitchell and Kron Gracie; and featherweights Nade Landwehr and Doo Ho Choi.
The UFC 310 preliminary card is simply as stacked. A litany of former champions, title challengers and contenders will jockey for place within the prime 15 of their respective weight lessons.
Anthony Smith vs. Dominick Reyes
Former mild heavyweight title challengers Smith and Reyes will sq. off to headline the UFC 310 prelims. Each males fought Jon Jones, with Reyes arguably beating the sunshine heavyweight GOAT. Reyes snapped a four-fight skid with a knockout win over Dustin Jacoby and can look to remain heading in the right direction in opposition to Smith. Reyes carries quite a lot of energy and has stable wrestling, making him a tough opponent to floor.
Smith, since his loss to Jones, has turned away prospects not but able to compete within the higher echelon of sunshine heavyweight. Smith has fought a who’s who over his 57-fight skilled profession, beating the likes of Alexander Gustafsson, Volkan Oezdemir, Mauricio Rua, Rashad Evans, Vitor Petrino, Ryan Spann twice, and others.
Whereas Reyes solely has 17 skilled fights in comparison with Smith’s 57, Reyes carries expertise in opponents’ identify worth into the match-up, that means followers are getting two seasoned combatants.
The battle additionally carries mild heavyweight prime 15 implications, as Reyes is ranked No. 12 and Smith is ranked No. 13.
Vicente Luque vs. Themba Gorimbo
Gorimbo will get the most important alternative of his younger profession when he meets perennial contender Luque, who’s ranked No. 14 at welterweight. Gorimbo, who misplaced his UFC debut to AJ Fletcher, has received 4 straight UFC fights to arrange a ranked match-up. He most just lately defeated Niko Worth. Now, he will get a harmful finisher in Luque.
Luque is 15-6 within the UFC with wins over the likes of present welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, former promotional champions Tyron Woodley and Rafael dos Anjos, in addition to Worth, Jalin Turner, Mike Perry, and Randy Brown.
Gorimbo has been a pleasing story within the UFC, and now he’ll get the hardest take a look at of his profession but. The oddsmakers favor him as a 2-1 favourite, however Luque carries an enormous power of schedule benefit. Gorimbo can show he’s the true deal and bust into the rankings if he can topple the damaging veteran.
Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
Followers might be handled to a battle of top-10 featherweights on the UFC 310 prelims.
Sterling, the previous bantamweight champion, is ranked No. 9. He might ascend to the highest 5 with a win over No. 5-ranked Evloev. Sterling moved up a weight class after dropping his title to Sean O’Malley. He was then avenged by buddy and teammate Merab Dvalishvili, the present bantamweight champion.
Sterling has overwhelmed a who’s who at bantamweight, together with Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw and Cory Sandhagen. “Aljo” then dominated Calvin Kattar in his featherweight debut, exhibiting he is able to be fast-tracked to the featherweight title. Whereas he might solely be a win or two away from realizing that title shot, he has to get by way of Evloev first.
Evloev is an ideal 18-0 in his skilled profession and 8-0 within the UFC. His wins have come over the likes of Arnold Allen, Diego Lopes and Dan Ige. Lopes has surged since his loss to Evloev, however Evloev might earn a title eliminator match if he beats Sterling – maybe a rematch between Lopes and Evloev?
Whereas there are a lot of inquiries to be answered so far as title competition goes, this battle might reply a lot of them. Aside from the heavy implications, it could possibly be a extremely enjoyable battle if it hits the bottom, as each males are stand-out grapplers.
Randy Brown vs. Bryan Battle
Brown and Battle will conflict in a gathering of two males close to the highest 15 of the welterweight division. The winner might – and may – rating a ranked opponent subsequent.
Battle has received three straight bouts outdoors of a no-contest, scoring finishes over Kevin Jousset, AJ Fletcher and Gabe Inexperienced. Brown has received three in a row, securing victories over Elizeu Zaleski, Muslim Salikhov, and Wellington Turman.
Each males have energy, although Battle is the extra prolific finisher. Brown has fought and defeated stiffer competitors, nonetheless. Brown might be a superb gauge to see if Battle is prepared for the elite of the welterweight division, whereas a win over the surging battle would show Brown has made the required changes to diffuse harmful foes.
This might be an thrilling scrap, and the winner positively deserves a push ahead in a crowded weight class.
Chris Weidman vs. Eryk Anders
Let’s do this once more. Weidman and Anders have been listed as a UFC 309 preliminary card battle to look at, however Anders’ medical problem compelled a cancellation on the day of the occasion. The battle was rebooked for UFC 310 as an alternative.
Weidman, a former middleweight champion, is ready to battle Anders within the penultimate prelim. Weidman fought a who’s who of middleweights in his surge to the title, defeating Anderson Silva twice, in addition to Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort. Regardless of success in opposition to the likes of Luke Rockhold, who he misplaced his strap to, in addition to Yoel Romero and Ronaldo Souza, Weidman got here up brief. He has since managed wins over the likes of Kelvin Gastelum and Omari Akhmedov earlier than snapping his leg in opposition to Uriah Corridor. The resilient Weidman pushed by way of a tough restoration and is decided to make one remaining run.
He defeated Bruno Silva in a technical unanimous determination in his most earlier bout. Now, he attracts Anders, a strong middleweight who was a former linebacker for Alabama.
A win over Weidman would undoubtedly be the most important of Anders’s profession. Whereas Weidman isn’t at present ranked at 185 kilos, the winner of this battle might get a possibility at a top-15 foe.
Featured Picture credit score:Embed from Getty Photos
