UFC Columbus is now less than 24 hours away, and we’re right here to get you ready for all the big action!
All fighters made weight earlier today, so every bout will proceed as scheduled. Below, you can find the betting odds and final faceoffs of each fight on the main card.
Marc Diakiese (+140) vs. Viacheslav Borshchev (-160)
Marc Diakiese is coming off of two consecutive losses as he takes on 6-1 Viacheslav Borshchev to kick off the main card. After earning his contract on Dana White‘s Contender Series, Borshchev turned in a successful UFC debut with a round-1 TKO of Dakota Bush. You can check out the face-offs of these two lightweights below.
Ilir Latifi (-200) vs. Aleksei Oleinik (+175)
Ilir Latifi will look to pick up his second heavyweight victory in the UFC when he takes on Aleksei Oleinik. Oleinik is in desperate need of a win here, as he has lost three straight fights. At 44 years old, a fourth straight loss would almost surely be a death sentence to his UFC run.
View the face-offs of these two heavyweights below.
Askar Askarov (-350) vs. Kai Kara-France (+290)
In a sleeper yet crucial bout in the flyweight division, Askar Askarov takes on Kai Kara-France. Askarov would love nothing more than to be a champion for the deaf community both literally and figuratively. But reaching UFC gold to actualize the literal begins with the difficult task of Kai Kara-France, who maintains that the general public continues to understimate him.
The winner of this fight could be looking down the barrel of a title fight next, but below, you can watch the two top contenders gazing strictly at one another.
Matt Brown (-110) vs. Bryan Barberena (-110)
The people’s main event? Maybe. Brayn Barberena seems to think so. Matt Brown‘s retirement fight? Doubtful. Brown is firm in his belief that he has much more to offer the sport, even at 41 years of age. His last performance of a KO victory over Dhiego Lima did little to divert his belief.
However, his fellow hard-nosed mixed martial artist Bryan Barberena will look to deliver enough violence to make the 17-year MMA veteran rethink his career path going forward.
You can find the face-off to this pick-em fight below.
Joanne Wood (+200) vs. Alexa Grasso (-240)
Top-10 women’s flyweights Joanne Wood and Alexa Grasso will occupy the co-main event. Wood is coming off two consecutive losses to Lauren Murphy and Taila Santos while Grasso is currently experiencing the opposite trend of two straight wins, which came over Ji Yeon Kim and Maycee Barber.
You can peep the face-off of these two competitors in a potential title eliminator below.
Curtis Blaydes (-380) vs. Chris Daukaus (+310)
Curtis Blaydes expects the wrestling heritage of Ohio to lead way to a strong fan reception for him. Fans or not, the action inside the cage is what will be on full display in this main event.
The #4-ranked Curtis Blaydes will look to win his second consecutive bout tomorrow when he takes on ex-police officer Chris Daukaus, who is trying to re-bound from his KO loss to Derrick Lewis last December. Peep the final face-off below.
UFC Columbus takes place Saturday, March 26, from the Columbus’ Nationwide Arena. The preliminary card begins at 4:00 PM ET, with the main card starting at 7:00 PM. The entire card will air on both ESPN and ESPN+.
Be sure to keep it locked right here on MMANews.com for all the UFC Columbus coverage tomorrow!