UFC Vegas 82 Preview and Predictions
The UFC is back in Las Vegas, Nevada with a Fight Night card. The event is a fairly standard UFC Apex card as it hosts a few ranking fighters as well as some promising prospects.
Join Vendetta Sports Media as we preview and predict each fight on the main card. You can find out prediction records below.
James: 123-74-3
Garrett: 121-76-3
Jerry: 104-61-2
Anthony: 102-64-2
Uros Medic vs. Myktybek Orolbai–Welterweight Bout
James: At UFC Vegas 82, Uros Medic will fight Myktybek Orolbai. In his last bout, Medic made his welterweight debut and got a stoppage victory over Matthew Semelsberger. Now, he is looking to take another step forward in the division. On the other hand, Orolbai is making his UFC debut after taking this bout on short notice.
Medic is a long southpaw with a good amount of power. That makes him a tricky fighter to deal with. That trickiness is compounded because he throws a lot of volume and mixes his attacks. Medic throws a wide variety of attacks on the feet, will attack the body, and throws kicks to all three levels.
On the regional scene, Orolbai has shown a well-rounded skill set. This begins with his powerful striking. Orolbai is not overly technical, but he has a solid jab and can land his right hand behind it. Orolbai can also mix in grappling. The takedowns are fairly standard, but once he gets on top, he throws heavy ground and pound. At UFC Vegas 82, we will learn if those skills transfer to the UFC level.
I am highly interested to see how Orolbai performs against his toughest level of competition. I am expecting this to be a close fight. Medic should have success using his length and volume to outstrike Orolbai from the outside, but Orolbai can crash the distance he can land power shots of his own. Ultimately, Orolbai’s ability to land takedowns will be what wins this fight. If he can get this to the ground, close rounds could swing in his favor. I will predict that happen. I will take Orolbai by decision.
Garrett: Orolbai via decision
Jerry: Medic via KO/TKO
Anthony: Orolbai via decision
No. 9 Luana Pinheiro vs. No. 11 Amanda Ribas–Women’s Strawweight Bout
James: UFC Vegas 82 features a women’s bantamweight matchup between Luana Pinheiro and Amanda Ribas.
Pinheiro, 29, quickly joined the divisional rankings after starting her UFC tenure with three consecutive wins. The most recent win in that streak came against Michelle Waterson-Gomez and earned her a ranking. Ribas, 30, is a fan favorite that has bounced between flyweight and strawweight. This fight will be her first fight in the lower division since 2021. Overall, she holds a 6-3 UFC record.
On the feet, Pinheiro will attack with leg kicks from the outside before entering the pocket and throwing big hooks. This is a double-edged sword as she can land big shots that hurt her opponent, but she can also be countered. On the inside, Pinheiro looks for judo throws as well.
Ribas is a more complete striker who will establish her jab and put punches behind it. In addition, she moves well and throws kicks. In the grappling department, she relies on her background in judo and BJJ.
This is one of the tougher fights to preview on UFC Vegas 82. It is very easy to make a case for both fighters. Historically, Ribas has bad striking defense and is not very durable. That was a massive problem at flyweight, but she is back at strawweight. Still, Pinheiro hits harder than a lot of strawweights. It would not be a surprise to see her use leg kicks to stifle Ribas’ movement. Meanwhile, Ribas should be able to land her jab and counter Pinheiro. This should be a close fight.
I will lean toward Ribas because she has better cardio. If this is a close bout, that will win her the later rounds. I will take Ribas by decision.
Garrett: Pinheiro via decision
Jerry: Ribas via decision
Anthony: Ribas via decision
Payton Talbott vs. Nick Aguirre–Bantamweight Bout
James: At UFC Vegas 82, Payton Talbott will make his UFC debut against Nick Aguirre. The 25-year-old earned a contract with an impressive victory on Dana White’s Contender Series. In that bout, he proved to be a legitimate prospect worth watching. It seems like the UFC agrees because he is making his debut on a main card.
Aguirre is fair competition for his debut. At 0-1 in the UFC, he is also looking to make a name for himself.
At 5-foot-10, Talbott is a long bantamweight, combining his length and forward pressure to create a unique style. In fights, he will walk opponents down, get them backed up and look to pick them apart with his hands. This is best accomplished when he can land his jab or lead hook, allowing him to open up his game and throw longer combinations. Despite focusing on boxing, Talbott will throw kicks which makes his attack more unpredictable.
Aguirre is a grappling specialist who will look for takedowns and hunt submissions. Largely, his grappling focuses on landing a submission rather than controlling position. This results in a lot of scrambles that give him opportunities to end the fight.
This bout previews to be the biggest clash of styles on UFC Vegas 82. This will be a serious test for Talbott’s grappling. I am expecting him to pass that test. Since he has good cardio, he can grapple at a fast pace for a significant amount of time. Once this bout gets into the second and third rounds, Talbott should be much fresher and should be able to land big shots. I will take Talbott by third-round knockout.
Garrett: Talbott via TKO
Jerry: Talbott via KO/TKO
Anthony: Talbott via KO/TKO
Chase Hooper vs. Jordan Leavitt–Lightweight Bout
James: At UFC Vegas 82, lightweight grappling specialists Chase Hooper and Jordan Leavitt will fight. Hooper, 24, joined the UFC at a young age. That youth and inexperience led to some early struggles. In seven promotional bouts, he sits at 4-3. Leavitt has had similar luck in his UFC tenure and sits at 4-2.
Hooper’s grappling is centered around his BJJ skills. In turn, it is common for him to aggressively hunt submissions. This is often done from the bottom position where he hunts heel hooks. Otherwise, he can land sweeps and get to the top position. On the feet, Hooper has a lot of striking flaws. The positives are that he fights at a high pace, is very tough and often has a reach advantage.
Leavitt’s grappling has a better mix of wrestling and BJJ. In fights, he prioritizes getting to the top position and working from that position. Similarly to Hooper, he struggles in striking exchanges. This is because he does not have great defense or much power. Usually, he uses his striking to back opponents to the fence which allows him to shoot takedowns against the fence.
This bout previews to be one of the most chaotic fights on UFC Vegas 82. The grappling exchanges will likely be close and competitive. If that holds, the striking exchanges could be the factor that determines the winner. If that is the case, Hooper will likely do more damage simply because he throws much more volume. Plus, he has an edge in cardio. I think the chaotic grappling exchanges lead to Leavitt gassing out which will allow Hooper to pick up the pace late. I will take Hooper by third-round knockout.
Garrett: Leavitt via decision
Jerry: Hooper via decision
Anthony: Hooper via decision
Michael Morales vs. Jake Matthews–Welterweight Bout
James: UFC Vegas 82 features a bout between Michael Morales and Jake Matthews. Morales, 24, is an impressive welterweight prospect. In three UFC fights, he has gone 3-0 with two knockout wins. Matthews, 29, joined the UFC at a young age and has gone 12-6 in his promotional tenure. More recently, he is 2-2 in his last four bouts.
Morales is a really impressive prospect. The best aspect of his skillset is his distance striking. Morales is great at picking opponents apart from the outside. This begins with his quick and powerful jab, but his straight right is the best weapon in his arsenal. Morales uses that shot to pressure, counter or end combinations. Most importantly, it does serious damage. In addition to his distance striking, his athleticism allows him to utilize dynamic attacks like flying knees and Superman punches.
Matthews is an evolving striker who has made a lot of improvements throughout his UFC tenure. At this point in his career, his best striking comes in the pocket when he can string together combinations of hooks, uppercuts and body shots. On top of that, Matthews is an impressive grappler who can land takedowns and look for submissions.
I like Morales in this matchup. In his most recent fight, he did a great job defending takedowns. I think that trend continues in this matchup. If it stays standing, Morales will be able to land big shots from the outside. I am slightly concerned that Matthews will be able to land big shots if Morales gets over-aggressive, but that is not enough of a reason to flip my prediction. I will take Morales by second-round knockout.
Garrett: Morales via TKO
Jerry: Morales via KO/TKO
Anthony: Matthews via TKO/KO
No. 10 Brendan Allen vs. No. 13 Paul Craig–Middleweight Bout
James: The UFC Vegas 82 main event features a middleweight bout between Brendan Allen and Paul Craig. This bout will be highly important for the landscape of the middleweight division as the winner will likely begin to face off against some of the division’s top talent.
Allen has been red hot as of late. At 27, he is riding a five-fight win streak that includes four finishes. Most recently, he proved to be a lethal finisher as he submitted Bruno Silva and earned a ranking with a submission over Andre Muniz. On the other hand, Craig is new to the division. In his only middleweight fight, he finished Muniz with ground-and-pound.
Allen’s best skill is his BJJ. The most impressive aspect of his ground game is his ability to quickly transition and sweep. In addition to his BJJ, he has added some wrestling skills to help round out his grappling. On the feet, he can land big punches on the inside and throw kicks from the outside. I do not find his striking overly impressive, but it is better than other primary grapplers. That is impressive considering he still has plenty of time to improve his striking.
Craig has been known as a BJJ specialist. A large portion of his success has come from attacking submissions off his back; however, in his most recent win, he added to his skill set with improved offensive wrestling and a better top game. In terms of striking, Craig is not technical. Instead, he uses his newly found size advantage to sit on the outside and powerful throw kicks. Craig’s boxing does carry power, but he does not get into range well and is not defensively responsible in the pocket.
This UFC Vegas 82 main event preview heavily favors Allen. It is hard to forecast that Craig will be able to find grappling success another accomplished grappler. Allen is one of the few fighters who can be trusted to work from the top against Craig. On top of that, he is the superior striker in this matchup. I will take Allen by second-round submission.
Garrett: Allen via decision
Jerry: Craig via submission
Anthony: Allen via TKO/KO
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