After a week away, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns with its latest offering of cage violence in UFC Vegas 34 on August 21.
The event takes place inside the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the card is headlined by a battle at middleweight between third-ranked Jared Cannonier and ninth-ranked Kelvin Gastelum. The main card also includes a featured flyweight bout pitting third-ranked Alexandre Pantoja against former LFA champion, and sixth-ranked Brandon Royval.
How to watch UFC Vegas 34 on August 21
- UFC Vegas 34 will kick at 6 pm ET on ESPN+ with the preliminary portion of the card
- The main card will follow at 10 pm ET also on ESPN+
UFC Vegas 34 Full card
Main Card (10 pm ET, ESPN+)
Jared Cannonier (-155) vs Kelvin Gastelum (+135)
Clay Guida (+135) vs Mark O. Madsen (-155)
Chase Sherman (-180) vs Parker Porter (+155)
Bea Malecki (-140) vs Josiane Nunes (+120)
Alexandre Pantoja (-160) vs Brandon Royval (+140)
Preliminary Card (6 pm ET, ESPN+)
Brian Kelleher (-170) vs Domingo Pilarte (+150)
William Knight (-225) vs Fabio Cherant (+185)
Vinc Pichel (-110) vs Austin Hubbard (-110)
Luis Saldaña (-155) vs Austin Lingo (+135)
Ramiz Brahimaj (-120) vs Sasha Palatnikov (+100)
Mana Martinez (-190) vs Jesse Strader (+160)
Roosevelt Roberts (-145) vs Ignacio Bahamondes (+125)
Cortney Casey (-200) vs Liana Jojua (+170)
Abdul Razak Alhassan (-125) vs Antonio Braga Neto (+105)
UFC Vegas 34 appointment television fights
Jared Cannonier vs Kelvin Gastelum
UFC Vegas 34 is a make-or-break night for both Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum. At 37, Cannonier’s championship window of opportunity gets smaller and smaller. He needs to rack up as many wins as possible to stay in contention and hopefully land a coveted UFC title show.
However, this bout feels even bigger for Gastelum. After losing four of his last five, it seems like forever ago when he took champion Israel Adesanya to the brink of defeat at UFC 236 in 2019. If he ever hopes to recapture that moment, or even sniff contender status again, he must win on August 21. Otherwise, he will be outside the top-10 and have a very long road ahead in trying to reach the elite of the division again.
Prediction: Gastelum by split-decision
Brandon Royval vs. Alexandre Pantoja
Brandon Royval versus Alexandre Pantoja could easily steal the show, while also setting up the next contender to UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno. Both are come forward, action fighters that always aim for a finish. Wherever this fight goes, it may turn into a melee with the sort of speed and scrambles that only the 125-pound division can offer.
Since Moreno has no clear option for his first title defense, a statement victory by either man could compel UFC brass to hand the winner a title shot.
Prediction: Royval by technical knockout, round 3
Clay Guida vs Mark O. Madsen
Olympic silver medalist Mark O. Madsen is a prospect the promotion wants to bring along slowly. At UFC Vegas 34, he gets a solid jump up in competition and opponent name value, in the form of UFC stalwart Clay Guida. Booking a fighter with 10 fights against one with 56 would seem outrageous at first glance. But that is the sort of potential Madsen has shown so far, and at 39, Guida has entered a stage as a pretty strong lightweight gatekeeper.
“The Olympian” has all the physical gifts to win this, but the experience gap, and “The Carpenter’s” endless cardio will certainly offer the Danish talent some important development tests.
Prediction: Madsen by unanimous decision
