UFC Vegas 42 Preview

We are at PRIME-TIME for the EMEA audience, with a headline event being played out between two of the top-three ranked featherweight contenders.
A blessed headline
Two leading featherweight names face off in this week’s headline fight, as no.1 contender Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway takes on no.3 contender Yair ‘El Pantera’ Rodriguez.

One of the most exciting UFC athletes to watch, Max Holloway has won 15 of his last 18 fights. He has secured the most wins (17), finishes (10) and post-fight bonuses (eight) in featherweight division history. In his most recent bout, he broke his own record for most significant strikes landed in a UFC fight, with an astonishing 445 in his unanimous decision victory over Calvin Kattar.

Winning 11 of his last 13 bouts, Yair Rodriguez has secured the fourth most featherweight wins (8) since signing with the UFC in 2014. He has recorded eight career finishes, five by KO and three by submission, four of these finishes came in the first round. Before joining the UFC, he was working in a natural holistic store, selling organic food and skincare products.

FeeNom-enal Featherweights
Two exciting women’s featherweights clash this weekend, as efficient finishers, Felica ‘FeeNom’ Spencer and Leah ‘Nidas’ Letson go head-to-head.

Felicia Spencer is looking to snap a two-bout losing streak, after losing in two tight matchups against Amanda Nunes and Norma Dumont. Felicia has two UFC victories under her belt, both of which were first-round finishes. These include her debut where she submitted Megan Anderson, and her latest victory where she stopped Zarah Fairn in the first round. Alongside competing in the UFC, she is an algebra teacher as well as a BJJ coach.

Winning five of her last six bouts, Leah Letson returns to the Octagon for the first time since 2018, when she defeated Juljia Stoliarenko by split decision, on her UFC debut. Letson holds a third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do as well as a second-degree black belt in karate. She has secured three finishes in her career, all by knockout.

Train tracks to The Octagon 
England’s own Marc ‘Bonecrusher’ Diakiese is back in action as he faces Rafael ‘The Turn’ Alves in a lightweight bout.

Diakiese holds a 14-4 record and has won two of his last three fights. In seven of his victories, he has finished his opponent; six by knockout and one by submission. Six of these finishes also came in the first round. He has earned one post-fight bonus, performance of the night, when he knocked out Teemu Packalen in just 30 seconds. Before signing with the UFC, Diakiese used to work on the railways in England.

Rafael Alves is looking for his first win in the UFC, following losing by unanimous decision to Damir Ismagulov by unanimous decision in May. He holds a 19-10 record, and 14 of those wins came by finishes, seven knockouts and seven submissions. Eight of those submissions came in the first round. He has been training since he was seven, and played football, but opted to commit to a career in fighting.

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