Poland’s Oleksiejczuk began last year still competing at light heavyweight but made the move down to the 185-pound ranks following a loss to Dustin Jacoby at UFC 272. In his first two middleweight appearances, the 28-year-old made quick work of Sam Alvey and Cody Brundage, showcasing his tremendous boxing to earn first-round stoppage wins over each.
On paper, this profiles as a “grappler versus striker” matchup and that’s likely how it plays out in practice, as well, as Borralho will aim to close the distance, clinch, and wrestle, while Oleksiejczuk will do his damnedest to maintain space and get loose with his hands. Whichever man is able to most effectively implement their game plan will most likely continue their winning ways and take another step forward in the division.
Rodolfo Vieira vs. Cody Brundage
We stick at middleweight for a clash between Brazilian jiu jitsu world champion Rodolfo Vieira and former Division I wrestler Cody Brundage.
Vieira’s transition into MMA started smoothly, as he parlayed five consecutive victories into an opportunity to compete in the UFC, and maintained his winning ways with victories in each of his first two trips into the Octagon. Since then, the 33-year-old has gone 1-2, with losses to Anthony Hernandez and Chris Curtis stationed on either side of a hard-fought win over Dustin Stoltzfus.
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A short-notice fight against Nick Maximov allowed Brundage to get his foot in the door with the UFC, and consecutive first-round wins over Dalcha Lungiambula and Tresean Gore had the Factory X representative moving in the right direction heading into the final month of last year. The loss to Oleksiejczuk halted his momentum, but a rebound here against Vieira and further success for “Hussar” later in the night would certainly work to bolster his standing.
Who will get things moving in the right direction again and who will be forced to regroup following another setback?
Julian Erosa vs. Fernando Padilla