UFC Vegas 30 will be the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s latest event from the promotions home base in Las Vegas, Nevada and it will be an afternoon special kicking off its preliminary action at 1 pm ET/10 am PT. The event is headlined by a battle of top-five heavyweights, as Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov look to jump to the head of the line for a shot at UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. The event isn’t heavy on ranked talent, but it is deep on veterans with a reputation for offering up violence for viewers’ pleasure.
How to watch UFC Vegas 30 on June 26
- The event kicks off at 1 pm ET on ESPN+, with seven preliminary bouts
- Main card action stars at 4 pm ET, and is also on ESPN+
UFC Vegas 30 fight card
Main card (4 pm ET, ESPN+)
Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
Ovince St. Preux vs. Tanner Boser
Danilo Marquez vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
Renato Moicano vs. Jai Herbert
Preliminary card (1 pm ET, ESPN+)
Raoni Barcelos vs. Timur Valiev
Michel Prazeres vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
Warlley Alves vs. Jeremiah Wells
Marcin Prachnio vs. Ike Villanueva
Julia Avila vs. Julija Stoliarenko
UFC Vegas 30 preview: Appointment television fights
Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
The UFC Vegas 30 main event feels like an unofficial heavyweight title eliminator fight. As the booking of Francis Ngannou’s first title defense continues to drag out as a question of which rematch is more interesting–a trilogy against former champion Stipe Miocic or runback with power-hitter Derrick Lewis–Saturday night offers a serious opportunity for Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov. An impressive performance by the either the third or fifth ranked big man could certainly force UFC brass to think outside the choices in front of them.
Each has strong resumes under their belts, offer fresh faces for the title picture and can play heavyweight representatives for markets–France and Russia–that the UFC craves mining more greenbacks from. This is a “Fight Night” headliner that has the sort of championship ramifications that these sorts of cards rarely have. Not to mention, it’s a booking of two of the more technically skilled strikers in the entire division.
Prediction: Gane by TKO in round 4
Andre Fili vs. Daniel Pineda
This UFC Vegas 30 card does not have a great deal of ranked competition, but it certainly has several bouts pitting a pair of well-round and scrappy fighters against each other. Andre Fili versus Daniel Pineda is a prime example of that. Both are as veterans as it gets with ton of fights on their Wikipedia bio and a willingness to risk damage to put hands on opponents, and shed some plasma on fight night.
The bout is one that has “fight of the night” potential and also some pressure. As each looks to bounce back from recent losses and tries to get themselves into the conversation for a ranking at featherweight.
Prediction: Fili by unanimous decision
Nicolas Dalby vs. Tim Means
Tim Means is like a slightly younger and less appreciated version of last week’s fight night welterweight greybeard Matt Brown. The man is a straight dog in the cage. He is not a wild brawler seeking out blood, but is more than willing to get his hands and face dirty in pursuit of finishing a fight. His 24 stoppages in 31 wins is proof of that. In Nicolas Dalby he gets another veteran dance partner that understands he has to make the most of his opportunities in the Octagon. As both have been handed their UFC walking papers in the past.
Like Fili versus Pineda, this is another main card booking that could steal some thunder from the night’s all important main event.
Prediction: Dalby by split-decision
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