UFC Vegas 71 Preview and Predictions
The UFC is back at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, after being on the road for several weeks in a row. The quality of this card is reflective of its location, too. This card is not terrible by any means, but it is not nearly as strong as previous fight nights like UFC Kansas City or UFC San Antonio. The main event will carry a lot of the card’s appeal as Curtis Blaydes and Sergei Pavlovich fight for a top position in the UFC heavyweight division.
The Vendetta Sports Media preview team is here to preview the main card and predict each fight. You can find our prediction records below.
James Herrick: 35-23-2
Garrett Burroughs: 35-23-2
Jerry Walker: 23-24-1
Anthony Miranda: 29-20-1
Jeremiah Wells vs. Matthew Semelsberger — Welterweight
James: Jeremiah Wells and Matthew Semelsberger are set to open the main card of UFC Vegas 71. Wells has entered the UFC with a splash, going 3-0 with three finishes. Wells has shown a lot of positives in his UFC tenure that would make him a solid prospect. At 36, his ceiling is capped, however. Semelsberger, on the other hand, has gone 5-2 in the UFC and is still only 30 years old.
Wells has some great physical attributes. The most notable is his strength which he uses to land powerful shots and be physical in grappling exchanges. The skills are there too. He can get on the inside and land powerful shots and he has good BJJ on the ground.
Semelsberger has some solid tools as well and in his last fight, he started to put them together. He is solid from distance and can strike with power from the outside. In grappling, he has shown progression in his offensive wrestling as well.
This fight is as close as it gets. Semelsberger is the safer pick as he has better cardio and output. However, Wells has repeatedly shown the ability to find a finish. Plus, he has demonstrated the fight IQ to know when to utilize the grappler. I will take Wells by second-round knockout simply because I think he can land a knockout blow at some point over three rounds of fighting.
Garrett: Wells via decision
Jerry: Wells via KO/TKO
Anthony: Wells via decision
Iasmin Lucindo vs. Brogan Walker — Women’s Flyweight
James: Iasmin Lucindo and Brogan Walker are looking to pick up their first UFC win at UFC Vegas 71. Lucindo has one UFC fight under her belt. At UFC San Diego, she lost to Yazmin Jauregui but showed that she is a UFC-caliber fighter. Meanwhile, Walker lost in the Ultimate Fighter Season 30 finale to Juliana Miller.
On the regional scene, Lucindo showed solid grappling and ground and pound. In her UFC debut, she showed layers to her game and displayed good boxing. Meanwhile, Walker is a good boxer with a solid jab and lead hook.
I like Lucindo in this fight. Overall, I think she is the better fighter. On the ground, she can land powerful shots and avoid the BJJ of Walker. On the feet, she can land punches that hurt Walker. I will take Lucindo by third-round knockout.
Garrett: Lucindo via TKO
Jerry: Lucindo via decision
Anthony: Lucindo via decision
Bobby Green vs. Jared Gordon — Lightweight
James: At UFC Vegas 71, Bobby Green will fight Jared Gordon. This will be Gordon’s first fight since losing a highly questionable decision to Paddy Pimblett. Green is also looking to get back in the win column after losing consecutive bouts to Drew Dober and Islam Makhachev.
Gordon is well-rounded with solid wrestling and good boxing. He pairs those skills with toughness and cardio. That makes him a tough fighter to beat. Usually, this allows him to find a fighter’s flaws and expose them. Unfortunately, that skill set does not translate well into a fight with Green. That is because Green is a far better boxer, has great striking defense and is tough to take down.
I think Green will land a ton of volume on the feet and break Gordon down over several rounds. I will take Green by third-round knockout.
Garrett: Green via decision
Jerry: Green via decision
Anthony: Green via KO/TKO
Brad Tavares vs. Bruno Silva — Middleweight
James: In the UFC Vegas co-main event, Brad Tavares will fight Bruno Silva. Tavares has consistently been a solid fighter in the UFC. Typically, Tavares has only lost to elite fighters, but he has had some hiccups and dropped bouts against lesser fighters. That has led to a respectable 14-7 UFC record. Meanwhile, Silva has gone 3-2 in the UFC. In that span, Silva has shown that he looks great in wins and awful in losses. That makes him a tough fighter to get a read on.
I honestly have no idea what to expect from Silva. In his first three UFC fights, he looked great and picked up three knockout wins. After that, he dropped a fight with Alex Pereira which is understandable. The issue is that he was dominated by Gerald Meerschart in his most recent fight. At his peak, he is a hard-hitting striker with solid grappling. At his worst, he is a punching bag. On the flip side, Tavares has fought a lot of tough competition and shown some solid traits. Typically, he is durable, but he has been finished a few times. On the feet, Tavares is an above-average striker that can beat non-elite strikers.
If the best version of Silva shows up, I think he has a good chance in this fight. I would probably pick him too. The last time he fought he was not close to that fighter though. I will predict this fight based on that performance. I will take Tavares by second-round knockout.
Garrett: Silva via TKO
Jerry: Tavares via decision
Anthony: Tavares via decision
No. 3 Sergei Pavlovich vs. No. 4 Curtis Blaydes — Heavyweight
James: The UFC Vegas 71 main event features a heavyweight bout between Sergei Pavlovich and Curtis Blaydes which holds massive stakes in the UFC heavyweight division. The winner of this bout will likely have their name thrown into title contention. Still, they will have to wait for the rumored bout between UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic to go down. Once that happens, the winner will likely be looking at a title shot. With Jones’ retirement potentially looming, they may be fighting for a vacant belt, however. That is still a good spot to be in.
Pavlovich has been a fast riser in the heavyweight division since joining the UFC. In the promotion, he has tallied a 5-1 record with wins over Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa. Meanwhile, Blaydes has long been one of the top heavyweights on the UFC roster. The issue is that he has not been able to get past Francis Ngannou or Derrick Lewis. That can be seen as he has gone 12-3 with one no-contest in the UFC will all three of his losses coming to the aforementioned heavyweights.
This fight is intriguing as Blaydes and Pavlovich each have the skills needed to beat the other. The key to beating Blaydes is to land a powerful shot that knocks him out before he is able to get his wrestling going. Pavlovich has the ability to do that. His hands are quick and he lands with devastating power. Similarly, Blaydes can use his wrestling to counter Pavlovich’s power. If he lands a takedown, Blaydes should be able to control the fight and land ground-and-pound.
I will predict that Blaydes is able to outwrestle Pavlovich. Yes, that comes with risk as Pavlovich could quickly end this fight. Still, I think Blaydes will be able to land takedowns as Pavlovich pressures. If he can do that, Blaydes should be able to rack up control time, land ground-and-pound, and wear on Pavlovich until he finishes the fight. Plus, Blaydes has consistently been improving on the feet. I will take Blaydes via second-round knockout by way of ground and pound.
Garrett: Blaydes via decision
Jerry: Blaydes via KO/TKO
Anthony: Blaydes via KO/TKO
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