After much anticipation, the action is all set to kick off from Las Vegas on Saturday night with UFC 239 taking center stage at the T-Mobile Arena. Typically the case with International Fight Week each year, this card has a tremendous mix of superstar talents and young prospects working their way through the ranks looking to showcase their skills to the biggest audience available.
Starting with the early prelims and working our way through the main event, here’s a quick breakdown of each fight and what you can expect from each fighter with the latest odds from MGM.
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Julia Aliva -220 vs. Pannie Kianzad: +180: Opening up the early prelims are a pair of bantamweights looking to make a name for themselves. Kianzad accepted this bout on short notice when Melissa Gatto was forced to withdraw. Kianzad (11-4) is a veteran of Invicta FC, but lost her only previous UFC bout to Macy Chiasson last November. Aliva will make her UFC debut with a 6-1 record and a win over UFC vet Nicco Montano on her resume.
Ismail Naurdiev -500 vs. Chance Rencountre +375: A pair of fast risers at welterweight, Naurdiev and Rencountre could be a sneaky Fight of the Night contender. Both fighters are coming off strong victories, but could use a highlight reel finish to really start getting fans’ attention, especially on a showcase card like this.
Edmen Shahbazyan -650 vs. Jack Marshman +475: Middleweights take center cage in this battle with Shahbazyan (9-0) looking to extend his unbeaten mark. The Contender Series veteran is quickly rising in UFC and looking to pick up another TKO victory like he did over Charles Byrd in March. The 21-year-old “Golden Boy” could be a problem for years to come.
Song Yadong -210 vs. Alejandro Perez +170: A fight that was supposed to take place in March, Perez and Song will finally meet on Saturday with both looking to climb the bantamweight rankings. Perez needs to bounce back from a decision loss to Cody Stamann while Song is 3-0 since joining UFC in November 2017.
Claudia Gadelha -220 vs. Randa Markos +180: UFC veterans in desperate need of victories? You found them. Gadelha has struggled to find consistency since losing to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in July 2016, posting a 4-2 mark while not looking the part of dominant contender. Markos, meanwhile, is coming off a strong win over Angela Hill, but was just 2-2-1 in her five previous bouts.
Marlon Vera -420 vs. Nohelin Hernandez +340: Vera gets a short-notice opponent in Hernandez after Sean O’Malley was pulled by NSAC for having trace amounts of Ostraine in his USADA test. Hernandez is 10-2 in his pro MMA career and coming off a decision loss in boxing in May. This will be his UFC debut after fighting with LFA, Bellator and Tachi PF. Vera is on a three-fight win streak with all three coming via stoppage.
Arnold Allen -350 vs. Gilbert Melendez +290: In a bit of weird booking, Melendez is heading back into the Octagon for a tough showdown with Allen. The two were supposed to meet last November, but Melendez was forced to withdraw. After losing four straight bouts from 2014-2017, Melendez is looking for one more run after winning a grappling bout with Pat Healy in May. Allen is a fast-rising prospect out of England who is 5-0 since joining UFC in 2015. This could be a gate-keeper style matchup for Allen.
Michael Chiesa -330 vs. Diego Sanchez +270: Speaking of gate keepers, Sanchez is back! “Nightmare” is not just looking for a quick paycheck, either. Sanchez has won two straight, including a shocking upset over Mickey Gall in March. Now, he gets a grappler in Chiesa who looked fantastic in moving up to welterweight by beating Carlos Condit with a second-round Kimura.
Luke Rockhold -220 vs. Jan Blachowicz +180: In his first bout at 205 pounds, fans need to see something special from the former middleweight champion. Injuries have derailed so many comeback attempts for Rockhold that seeing him healthy would be nice, but his talk of being stronger and quicker make that hard to accept. He’s only fought three times since 2016. Blachowicz is 4-2 in his last six, but coming off a devastating knockout loss to Thiago Santos.
Ben Askren -200 vs. Jorge Masvidal +160: A good, old fashioned fight is what we hope to see when these two hit the Octagon on Saturday night. The smack talk between the MMA vets has amped up the excitement on this one, but it’s a pivotal matchup for the welterweight division as both could stake their claim to a title shot with a win in Las Vegas. Masvidal scored a terrifying knockout win over Darren Till in March while Askren rallied to choke out Robbie Lawler in his UFC debut.
Amanda Nunes (c) -420 vs. Holly Holm +320: There’s so much at stake for Nunes in this bout while Holm feels like she’s in a similar spot to the Ronda Rousey fight in 2015. Nunes has a chance to stake her claim as the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all time with a win that would add the only other champion she’s faced to her list of victories. Holm, meanwhile, is hoping to reclaim the belt she was unable to defend against Miesha Tate. She may be 2-4 in her last six and probably undeserving of this opportunity, but she could surely spoil the party for the “Lioness.”
Jon Jones (c) -900 vs. Thiago Santos +550: It’s not exactly a legacy/resume building fight for “Bones” in Las Vegas, but it’s another main event and another title defense he can’t take lightly. Jones has run roughshod over the 205-pound division since joining UFC, and with Daniel Cormier moving up to heavyweight, there seems to be a less than stellar crop of competitors stepping up to the plate. However, Santos does possess that-one punch knockout power that can change a fight on a dime. Keep a close eye on this one.
