The UFC returns to action this Saturday night when former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate (19-7) faces Brazilian UFC veteran Ketlen Vieira (11-2) in a five-round main event. The event takes place in the UFC Apex and kicks off at 17:00 CT (23:00 GMT) when the UFC will look to continue a run of incredible cards to end the year.
Fight Card Line-up
Main card
- Ketlen Vieira vs Miesha Tate
- Michael Chiesa vs Sean Brady
- Rani Yahya vs Kyung Ho Kang
- Joanne Calderwood vs Taila Santos
- Davey Grant vs Adrian Yanez
Preliminary card
- Tucker Lutz vs Pat Sabatini
- Rafa Garcia vs Natan Levy Women’s
- Loma Lookboonmee vs Lupita Godinez
- Fares Ziam vs Terrance McKinney
- Cody Durden vs Qileng Aori
- Sean Soriano vs Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
- Luana Pinheiro vs Sam Hughes
In the main event, Tate returns to the octagon for only the second time since 2016 against the experienced Vieira. Tate came back from retirement in 2021, after a brief stint as vice president of ONE Championship, to earn an impressive TKO victory over Marion Reneau in July 2021. Before this Tate had suffered two straight defeats against P4P female number one Amanda Nunes and bantamweight main stay Raquel Pennington. “Cupcake” has made clear she has returned to the UFC with hopes of once again becoming champion, first though, she must get past Vieira. Ketlen Vieira is 5-2 in the UFC and last fought in a decision loss against Yana Kunitskaya in February 2021. Vieira is no slouch though, she holds victories in the UFC over Cat Zingano and Sara McMann, the latter being a submission in the second round. This main event promises action and the winner can expect to progress quickly towards a bantamweight title shot should they impress.
In the co-main, TUF veteran, Michael Chiesa (18-5) will attempt to stop undefeated prospect Sean Brady (14-0) in his tracks. This bout has FOTN potential as Chiesa will be hoping to bounce back from a submission loss against Vicente Luque in August. Brady is 4-0 in the UFC and his last two fights have been impressive submission wins. Chiesa boasts an impressive 11 career submissions and is currently sitting at #6 in the welterweight rankings, he will look to defend his spot in the top ten against Brady who is ranked #14. Both fighters will hope a win propels them towards the top of the division and a shot at welterweight king Kamaru Usman.
Must See Bouts
Kicking off the main card is an explosive bantamweight bout between the UK’s Davey Grant (13-5)and DWCS alumni Adrian Yanez (14-3). Eight fight UFC veteran Grant is hoping to get back into the win column after his decision loss against Marlon Vera earlier this year. Yanez will look to continue his violent streak of 4 KO/TKO finishes against Grant who has never been finished by strikes in his professional career. Yanez is undefeated since 2018 and believes his technical boxing will be the difference on the night. Regardless of the result, expect fireworks between these two come Saturday night.
On the preliminary card sits Farez Ziam (12-3) vs Terrance McKinney (11-3). McKinney made his UFC debut on eight days’ notice in June 2021 against Matt Frevola, finishing the fight in just seven seconds with a slick one-two combination. Although McKinney did not receive an official bonus for the performance, Dana White promised he would receive something for such an impressive debut. French all-rounder Ziam is currently 2-1 in the UFC and will be looking to make it three wins in a row with a victory over McKinney. McKinney has a 100 percent finish rate as a professional and has made clear he will be looking for a quick finish against Ziam.
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