The 30-year-old Maness is one of the best unheralded talents on the roster, entering Saturday’s contest with a 14-1 record overall and a 3-0 mark inside the Octagon, with his lone setback coming in a championship clash with former UFC standout Taylor Lapilus under the TKO banner. After going to a decision win over Johnny Munoz Jr. in his promotional debut, Maness has posted back-to-back second-round stoppage wins over Luke Sanders and Tony Gravely to establish himself as a dark horse working his way up the ranks in the 135-pound weight class.
In terms of hype and buzz, Nurmagomedov has been the exact opposite of Maness, arriving amidst much fanfare as the highly touted younger cousin of former lightweight ruler Khabib Nurmagomedov. To his credit, the 26-year-old has done his part to validate his advanced billing, securing consecutive stoppage wins over Sergey Morozov and Brian Kelleher to push his record to 14-0 in advance of this weekend’s showdown with Maness in Las Vegas.
Bantamweight is one of the most competitive divisions in the UFC top-to-bottom at the moment, and these two ascending standouts are in the thick of things. Each is looking to continue progressing forward and earning bigger assignments, and this main card clash should provide plenty of insight into where each man fits within the divisional hierarchy and how much further they may climb before the year is out.
Chris Curtis vs. Rodolfo Vieira
Middleweights draw the opening slot on the main card as Chris Curtis looks to secure his third straight UFC victory in a showdown with multiple-time Brazilian jiu jitsu world champion Rodolfo Vieira.
Curtis was one of the coolest stories in MMA in 2021, as the veteran earned four wins in seven months to push his winning streak to five before volunteering for a short-notice assignment opposite Phil Hawes. The bout eventually came together a month later at Madison Square Garden, where the 34-year-old “Action-Man” collected a first-round knockout win.
As if that wasn’t enough, Curtis jumped back into the Octagon a month later in Las Vegas, handing Brendan Allen a second-round stoppage loss to give himself two UFC victories and six total wins for the year.
After beginning his MMA career with seven consecutive victories, including a pair of submission wins in his first two UFC assignments, Vieira tasted defeat for the first time when Anthony Hernandez submitted him last February. The 32-year-old BJJ standout got back into the win column with a submission finish over Dustin Stoltzfus in July, and looks to take a big step forward in his development by halting Curtis’ impressive run of success here.
I know I say it quite frequently in this space, but it’s because it’s true: there is always opportunities to advance in the middleweight hierarchy and a dominant effort from either of these competitors would move them to the doorstep of the rankings and set them up for an even greater test next time out.
Can Curtis keep rolling or will Vieira show continued improvements while collecting the biggest win of his career?
Carlos Ulberg vs. Tafon Nchukwi
Carlos Ulberg and Tafon Nchukwi face off here in a meeting of powerhouse light heavyweights still looking to establish their footing in the UFC.