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UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Murphy Preview
The UFC returns to the Apex yet again on Saturday, May 18th with a card filled with entertaining fighters and headlined by a really fun Featherweight fight. Let’s take a look at the card…
Main Card (7 PM EDT - ESPN+)
Edson Barboza vs. Lerone Murphy
Khaos Williams vs. Carlston Harris
Themba Gorimbo vs. Ramiz Brahimaj
Adrian Yanez vs. Vinicius Salvador
Luana Pinheiro vs. Angela Hill
Preliminary Card (4 PM EDT - ESPN+)
Victor Martinez vs. Tom Nolan
Oumar Sy vs. Tuco Tokkos
Tamires Vidal vs. Melissa Gatto
Abus Magomedov vs. Warlley Alves
Piera Rodriguez vs. Ariane Carnelossi
Alatengheili vs. Kleydson Rodrigues
Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Emily Ducote
The Prelims
Although there aren’t a ton of big names on this card, it is filled with energy fighters and fun matchups.
Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Emily Ducote should be a fun first fight of the night. Both women are scrappy and are looking to string some wins together.
Ariane Carnelossi returns after almost two years. She is very tough with knockout power. She may be headhunting to make a statement in her return.
Warlley Alves is always fun to watch, but that fun doesn’t always work in his favor. He comes in on a three fight losing streak and will be taking on the very tough Abus Magomedov.
Luana Pinheiro vs. Angela Hill
Win or lose, Angela Hill always has a fun fight. She only moves forward and goes all out. She’ll be taking on the very tough Luana Pinheiro, though, who is a finish machine. This is going to be a heck of a way to start off the Main Card.
Adrian Yanez vs. Vinicius Salvador
Both of these men need a win as they are both coming in on losing streaks. Both men needing a win and Adrian Yanez being a “Performance of the Night” multi-time winner - well, this fight is set up for entertainment. Don’t take your eyes off of this one!
Themba Gorimbo vs. Ramiz Brahimaj
Ramiz Brahimaj is back after two years. Before his layoff, he was getting finishes left and right. Gorimbo is back on track with two wins in a row after his loss in his UFC debut. Gorimbo can be exciting, so we’ll see if Brahimaj goes to his old, reliable plan of taking his opponent down and going for the submission. This might be a long day at the office for Themba.
Khaos Williams vs. Carlston Harris
These are two scrappy veterans who both haven’t fought since the middle of last year. Khaos has been on a bit of a hotter streak, so we’ll see who takes it in a pretty close betting matchup. This will be a nice palate cleanser for the main event.
Edson Barboza vs. Lerone Murphy
You know - just when you think Edson Barboza is getting a little long in the tooth and it might be time for him to start winding down his career, he rattles off consecutive victories and is back in the main event against Lerone Murphy. The undefeated (one draw) Murphy comes in as the betting favorite and will be looking to add a huge name to his resume as he tries to continue his climb up the Featherweight Division. The stage is set for Murphy to jump into the spotlight, but Barboza didn’t allow that with Sodiq Yusuff last year in a similar situation. Murphy will be looking to kick down the gate of the gatekeeper while Barboza will be looking to extend what may be his last run. This should be fun!
My Picks
Lerone Murphy
Khaos Williams
Ramiz Brahimaj
Adrian Yanez
Luana Pinheiro
Tom Nolan
Oumar Sy
Melissa Gatto
Abus Magomedov
Ariane Carnelossi
Kleydson Rodrigues
Emily Ducote
Overall, I am looking forward to this card. We have some tough returning fighters who are looking to get back on track, prospects who are trying to make names for themselves, and scrappy fighters who are looking to put on a show. I think it’s a recipe for a fun show that I wish had a crowd to fill the building with energy.
Which fights are you looking forward to the most? Do you think Lerone Murphy will be able to take down Edson Barboza and step into the spotlight? Let me know at matt.tenhoeve@gmail.com. I’ll see you next week as I talk about the results for this weekend’s Bellator and UFC cards. See you then!
