With the trilogy bout between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman set to steal the spotlight in London, many fights seem to be falling under the radar. Let’s take a look at three fights that are going unnoticed from UFC 286.
Marvin Vettori vs Roman Dolidze
The main card opener sees Marvin Vettori face a rising star, Roman Dolidze. The bout takes place in the middleweight division and pits the #4 in the division against the #9.
Vettori entered the UFC in 2016 at just 22 years old and has gathered an 8-4-1 record inside the promotion. Now, aged 29, he finds himself right at the business end of the division with title-fight experience under his belt. The Italian is an all-action fighter who is extremely tough, having not been finished in his professional career.
The man across from him, Dolidze, is currently surging through the middleweight division on a four-fight win streak and will be hoping to ease his way past Vettori and into title contention. 2022 was an incredible year for the Georgian, with three wins by way of KO/TKO over Kyle Daukaus, Phil Hawes, and Jack Hermansson. All three finishes earned him a ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus. The 34-year-old is just one of the Georgians that seem to be taking over the UFC.
For Vettori, this is an opportunity to take out a big prospect in the division. For Dolidze, it is a chance to take out one of the best fighters in the division and propel himself into title contention.
Lerone Murphy vs Gabriel Santos
In the feature fight of the UFC Fight Pass prelims, Gabriel Santos steps in on short notice to face Lerone Murphy.
Murphy is one of the most highly-rated featherweight fighters and is yet to taste defeat in his 12 professional fights. The Brit will be making his UK debut with the UFC when he faces Santos, looking to add to his seven knockouts and four submissions. He has been inactive since he knocked Makwan Amirkhani at UFC 267 in 2021, setting up an interesting clash on Saturday night.
His opponent will be making his UFC debut after stepping in to replace Nathaniel Wood in what was meant to be an all-Brit bout. Santos comes in with a record of 10-0 and has recently held the LFA featherweight title, the 26-year-old will be full of confidence going into the fight with Murphy. ‘Mosquitinho’ finished his last two opponents in his only outings with the LFA.
This is an absolute banger between two featherweight prospects that could put the division on notice when they go against one another in London.
Jai Herbert vs Ludovit Klein
Finally, the second bout of the night sees two of the most exciting strikers in the lightweight division go at it. Jai Herbert vs Ludovit Klein promises to be a thrilling spectacle.
Herbert goes into UFC 286 having fought some of the very best in the 155 lb weight class 2-3 inside the UFC, he has fought Francisco Trinaldo, Renato Moicano, as well as Ilia Topuria. Although, his losses do not reflect the skills that he possesses: he is a dynamic striker with the ability to put anyone’s lights out – something that he almost did to Topuria at the first UFC London in 2022. Confidence should be high for ‘The Black Country Banger’, winning his most recent contest against Kyle Nelson, he also trains with Leon Edwards who, since Herbert’s win against Nelson, picked up the UFC welterweight title in spectacular fashion.
Klein has also had an up-and-down UFC career thus far, knocking Shane Young out in his debut before running into Mike Trizano and Nate Landwehr where he suffered back-to-back losses. He has since made the move to lightweight, finding success. Consecutive decision wins will see him come into his second fight in London with huge confidence in his own striking abilities.
As mentioned, this is just the second bout of the night – but do not be surprised if it ends up being one that stays in your head for a while.
Which fights are you looking forward to at UFC 286?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
