UFC Vegas 85 Start Time, Full Fight Details!

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is headed back to UFC Apex later TONIGHT (Sat., Feb. 3, 2024) in Las Vegas, Nevada to stage UFC Vegas 85. Headlining the ESPN+-streamed event will be a Middleweight bout between Roman Dolidze and Nassourdine Imavov. In the co-main event, Renato Moicano takes on Drew Dober in a Lightweight affair.

What’s Hot:

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UFC’s Middleweight division has a new king in Dricus du Plessis — who defeated Sean Strickland via split-decision at UFC 297 (see it here) — and now the African-born champion is the one with the huge target on his back. Since Nov. 2022, the title has changed hands a whopping four times, so that has to give rising contenders a glimmer of hope that a title fight (and win) is very possible, especially now that the boogeyman is ruling the Light Heavyweight division. Among those trying to scratch and claw their way into contention are Roman Dolidze and Nassourdine Imavov, who are ranked No. 8 and No. 11, respectively.

Dolidze had his roll slowed a bit after his four-fight win streak was snapped courtesy of Marvin Vettori in his last outing. Still, the hard-hitting 185-pound contender is 6-2 inside the Octagon, which has helped remain in the Top 10. Imavov hasn’t had much luck in his last two outings, either, coming off a No Contest (NC) against Chris Curtis due to an accidental clash of heads, which was preceded by a unanimous decision loss to former champion, Sean Strickland.

Dolidze has an upper hand when it comes to the grappling department thanks to his experience competing in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). That said, he does have more knockout wins that Imavov (7 to 5), so he can get the job done anywhere. Imavov may have a tad bit of quickness on his side but what it boils down to his aggressiveness, and Dolidze can put the pressure on and smother his way to a win, as well. Both men have yet to reach double digit fights inside the Octagon but have made an impression in a short amount of time. That means that win here pushes the victor up the ladder.

What’s Not:

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Nate Maness was forced out of his fight against Azat Maksum with an undisclosed injury and was ultimately replaced by Charles Johnson. I get that at times it’s hard to find a suitable opponent on short notice, but the promotion had a whole month to get someone in there and they still zeroed in on Johnson, who is in desperate need of a win after losing his last three fights inside the Octagon. Meanwhile, Maksum is undefeated at 17-0, which includes a split-decision win over Tyson Nam in his UFC debut. I just don’t like the pairing one bit given their track records.

Original Card vs. Actual Card:

A fight between William Gomis and Melsik Baghdasaryan was set to go down at this event before it was ultimately scrapped due to Gomis pulling out for an undisclosed reason. No fighter was pegged to fill the void, so Baghdasaryan was removed from the event altogether. Don’t be too surprised to see this fight get re-booked in the near future.

Injuries:

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Other than Nate Maness’ injury, Kiefer Crosbie was forced out of his fight against Themba Gorimbo with an unspecified health setback. Stepping in to take his place is Pete Rodriguez, who is coming off securing his first victory inside the Octagon against Mike Jackson. That said, that win was over 16 months ago, so ring rust could play a factor. As for Gorimbo, he last competed nine months ago, defeating Takashi Soto via unanimous decision. Rodriguez will have his hands full here because “The Answer” is a unit of a man who can twist you up like a pretzel with the slightest opening.

New Blood:

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Six months after submitting Chandler Cole with an impressive keylock submission on the Contender Series, Thomas Petersen will make his official UFC debut against Jamal Pogues, who is coming off a loss against Michael Parkin. Of Peterson’s eight wins, seven of them have come by way of knockout so the man is all about getting in and out as quickly as possible because they have all come in the very first round.

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Marquel Mederos is another Contender Series alum looking to impress in his debut when he tangos with Landon Quinones, who threw up a dud in his own debut against Nasrat Haqparast. Mederos is currently on a six-fight win streak, which includes three-first round knockout wins.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

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We have discussed several undercard fights including the incoming new blood, as well as a last-minute, head scratching bout between Charles Johnson and Azat Maksum, plus Themba Gorimbo vs. Pete Rodriguez, so let’s take a look at the rest of the preliminary portion of the event, shall we?

In the Featherweight division, Blake Bilder will battle Jeong Yeong Lee. Bilder has an impressive 8-1-1 record, but he did come up short in his most recent fight against Kyle Nelson, losing a unanimous decision to suffer the first big setback of his mixed marital arts (MMA) career. Lee, meanwhile is on a seven-fight win streak, and is 10-1 overall. The former Road FC 145-pound champion is as well-rounded as they come, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this fight took home some type of post-fight bonus.

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In the women’s Featherweight division, Luana Carolina will face off against Julija Stoliarenko. Carolina, while talented, has been rather inconsistent during her time under the UFC banner, racking up a 4-3 record. She snapped her two-fight skid last summer with a win against Ivana Siric Petrovic, which likely prevented her from getting her pink slip.

As for Stoliarenko, she hasn’t fared all that better than her opposition. She started off her UFC run with four straight losses, which luckily for her didn’t result in termination. To be clear, she lost her debut in Nov. 2018 in the TUF 28 finale, and did not earn a contract. She went on to win five straight fights on the regional circuit to eventually work her way into a UFC contract, though she lost her first three fights with the promotion. After picking up a win against Jessica Rose-Clark, she lost to Chelsea Chandler before picking up a nice win over Molly McCann. She will look to build off that momentum against Carolina.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

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Molly McCann was getting a lot of push from UFC, which was obviously aided by her close friendship with Paddy Pimblett. And while she has earned a few solid wins inside the Octagon with two separate three-fight win streaks, it’s the losses that are always magnified a bit more. She is now on her second two-fight losing streak after dropping back-to-back losses to Erin Blanchfield and Julija Stoliarenko (see highlights here), both via first-round submission. She needs a win against Diana Belbita in the worst way to prevent falling further down the women’s Flyweight ladder…or consider retirement again. She likely won’t get cut with another defeat, but she needs to get back in the win column to get her confidence back. On that note, Belbita also needs a win here also after losing two of her last three, most recently coming up short on the judges scorecards against Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

Interest Level: 5.5/10

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Renato Moicano has been very boisterous as of late, complaining about the upcoming lackluster UFC 300 event, as well as the fight that will be headlining tonight’s event. Where the new and mouthy Moicano came from no one knows, but he has to put up or shut up now that’s he’s been very vocal about all things UFC as of late. He has a tall task ahead of him in the form of Drew Dober, who is 4-1 in his last five fights with all of those wins coming by way of knockout (sample here). In fact, his last seven wins have come in that manner making him UFC’s knockout leader at 155 pounds, so Moicano has to keep his head on a swivel if he wants to keep it intact. As far as the Brazilian bomber goes, he is 2-1 in his last three fights and is coming off a submission win over Brad Riddell.

In the Welterweight division, Randy Brown and Muslim Salikhov will finally get it on after their original booking last month fell through. Brown has been on a pretty good hot streak, winning five of his last six fights under the UFC umbrella, though it hasn’t been good enough to put him into the Top 15 in the stacked 170-pound weight class. As for Salikhov, he has lost two of his last three fight and is coming off a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Nicolas Dalby. He needs a win in the worst way here to get some of the confidence back after starting his UFC career winning five of his first six fights inside the Octagon.

Viviane Araujo just can’t seem to put enough wins together to get her close to a shot at the title. Though she is ranked No. 7 at the moment, the Brazilian bomber is 1-2 in her last three fights, snapping her skid by defeating one-time title contender, Jennifer Maia. But she needs more than that if she wants to crack the Top 5, and a victory over Natalia Silva would be a nice boost. Silva is also looking to improve on her position (No. 9), and she has a very good chance at doing so if she can collect consecutive win number 11.

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Undefeated (12-0, 1-0 UFC) Middleweight contender Aliaskhab Khizriev looks to remain undefeated when he steps into the UFC cage for the second time as a pro to face off against Makhmud Muradov, who snapped his two-fight win streak by defeating Bryan Barberena. If he can become the first man to put a blemish on Khizriev’s record, it would be a good way to boost his confidence and momentum. For Khizriev, continuing on his winning ways will only expedite his way to the top like many of UFC’s Russian stars have grown accustomed to do.

Kicking things off on the main card will be a Welterweight matchup between Gilbert Urbina and Charles Radtke. Urbina is an even 1-1 inside the Octagon, falling to Bryan Battle via rear-naked choke in his UFC debut before bouncing back with a technical knockout (TKO) win over Orion Cosce last summer. As for Radtke, he coming in on a five-fight win streak and with plenty of momentum after making a splash in his UFC debut with a solid win over Mike Mathetha just four months ago.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC Vegas 85 Fight Card:

UFC Vegas 85 Main Event On ESPN+:

185 lbs.: Roman Dolidze vs. Nassourdine Imavov

UFC Vegas 85 Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):

155 lbs.: Renato Moicano vs. Drew Dober
170 lbs.: Randy Brown vs Muslim Salikhov
125 lbs.: Viviane Araujo vs. Natalia Silva
185 lbs.: Aliaskhab Khizriev vs. Makhmud Muradov
170 lbs.: Gilbert Urbina vs. Charles Radtke

UFC Vegas 85 ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):

125 lbs.: Molly McCann vs. Diana Belbita
125 lbs.: Charles Johnson vs. Azat Maksum
170 lbs.: Themba Gorimbo vs. Pete Rodriguez
145 lbs.: Blake Bilder vs. Jeong Yeong Lee
145 lbs.: Julija Stoliarenko vs. Luana Carolina
155 lbs.: Marquel Mederos vs. Landon Quinones
265 lbs.: Thomas Petersen vs. Jamal Pogues

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

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MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 85 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 7 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 85 news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Dolidze vs. Imavov” fight card and ESPN+ line up click here.