UFC Vegas 87 Start Time, Full Fight Details!

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back inside the friendly confines of UFC Apex later TODAY (March 2, 2024) in Las Vegas, Nevada to stage UFC Vegas 87. Headlining the event will be a Heavyweight slugfest between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Shamil Gaziev, In the co-main event, Tyson Pedro will face Vitor Petrino in a Light Heavyweight affair.

What’s Hot:

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The top of the Heavyweight division is currently at a standstill because there is still no indication as to when Jon Jones will defend his title for the first time against Stipe Miocic (or maybe Tom Aspinall) after winning it a year ago by defeating Ciryl Gane. Jones’ first defense was delayed after suffering a shoulder injury, but he is (hopefully) expected to return sometime in the summer. In the meantime, the rest of the division is staying busy in order to increase their chances to reach the big dance. This Saturday in “Sin City,” Rozenstruik and Gaziev will collide in their respective quest to one days earn a title fight.

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Rozenstruik is currently on the outside of the Top 10 looking in at No. 12, and is coming off a first-round submission loss at the hands of Jailton Almeida, his third loss in last four fights. Still, he does have the one-punch knockout power to get back on track in the blink of an eye, and a win over Gaziev will get him some new-found confidence. Speaking of which, Gaziev is currently undefeated at 12-0 with all but one of his wins coming via stoppage. He, too, has the knockout power as most big men do, so this fight may not last too long, Just look at how this recent clash of big men played out. If Gaziev can get a win over “Bigi Boy” in just his second fight inside the Octagon, he will put the division on notice and set himself up for an advanced ascension up the 265-pound ladder.

What’s Not:

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Umar Nurmagomedov is currently 16-0, with three of his first four wins inside the Octagon coming via stoppage. He is currently ranked No. 13 at Bantamweight, and yet UFC matchmakers felt his next fight should come against a newcomer in the form of Bekzat Almakhan, who will come in with a record of 14-1. It’s a high-risk low-reward situation for Nurmagomedov who has also been relegated to the undercard while a fight between Tyson Pedro and Vitor Petrino is the co-main event. I just don’t get it. Nevertheless, Nurmagomedov has to make sure not to overlook his foe, who has finished all but one of his opponents in victory.

Original Card vs. Actual Card:

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The card was originally planned to go down in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia before officials were reportedly unsatisfied with inaugural UFC card, forcing the promotion to postpone and improve the card for a later date. As far as matchups, Joel Alvarez was in line to face Ľudovít Klein before he was forced out for undisclosed reasons and replaced by AJ Cunningham. There were talks about re-booking a fight between Raul Rosas Jr. and Ricky Turcios at this event before it went up in smoke prior to UFC Mexico City, but the fight never truly materialized.

Injuries:

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A women’s Srawweight fight between Josefine Lindgren Knutsson and Julia Polastri was scratched after Knutsson came down with an injury. As a result, Polastri has been booked to face off against Stephanie Luciano on March 23. Brendan Marrote also suffered an undisclosed injury and his Featherweight fight against Mohammad Yahya was cancelled.

New Blood:

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Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady will bring his five-fight win streak with him to the Octagon in his official debut fight against Loik Radzhabov, who is coming off a knockout loss at the hands of Mateusz Rebecki. Al-Dewady earned his spot on the roster with an impressive win on the Contender Series.

Bernardo Sopai will also be making his UFC debut opposite fellow newcomer, Vinicius De Oliveira. Sopai is on a three-fight win streak via knockout, and has finished all but one of his opponents, so he is all go once the opening bell rings. As for De Oliveira, he secured a first-round knockout win on the Contender Series, his eighth win in his last nine fights. It’s pretty rare to have two newcomers face off against one another, but here we are.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

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Christian Leroy Duncan is coming off a TKO win over Denis Tiuliulin (highlights), so his confidence is sky high ahead of his Middleweight bout against Claudio Ribeiro, who hasn’t had the best run so far inside the Octagon. His is 1-2 so far, and is coming off a head-kick knockout loss to Roman Kopylov (see it here).

Javid Basharat is still technically undefeated after his most recent fight against Victor Henry at UFC 294 was ruled a No Contest (NC) after Basharat hit Henry with an accidental groin kick. Basharat will now attempt to make things right again when he battles Aiemann Zahabi, who has turned things around for himself by winning three straight fights after beginning his UFC career with a sub-par record of 1-2.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

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Jamie Pickett has had a dreadful run under the UFC banner, going just 2-6 in his eight bouts. He currently finds himself the owner of a four-fight losing streak with his last winning coming over two years ago. If he loses against Eryk Anders — who is just 1-3 himself in his last four fights — his time with the promotion could realistically come to an end. And if we are being honest, Anders needs a win pretty badly, too.

Interest Level: 5.5/10

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The co-main event will feature a 205-pound showdown between Tyson Pedro and Vitor Petrino. Pedro is 3-1 in his last four fights. but he just can’t seem to get over that hump to put him in the Top 15. His opponent, Vitor Petrino, is undefeated at 10-0, 3-0 UFC with eight stoppage wins. Petrino is the odds-on favorite to win this fight based on his track record, but Pedro has experience on his side to hand him his first defeat. This will be a hard-hitting affair, so don’t blink because it could end in the blink of an eye.

One of the more intriguing fights of the night is a Flyweight fight between Muhammad Mokaev and Alex Perez. Mokaev is currently holding down the No. 8 spot and is undefeated at 11-0-1, winning his first five fights inside the Octaogn, four via submission. In fact, the jiu-jitsu ace has six wins via submission, so his best course to victory is to turn this fight into a grappling affair. Perez, on the other hand, is the No. 7 ranked fighter in the division but is on a two-fight losing streak after starting his UFC run at 6-1. A win over Mokaev is definitely a good way to turn things around, but another loss takes him out of the Top 10.

In another Flyweight bout, Steve Erceg will attempt to secure his eleventh straight win when he battles Matt Schnell, who has really struggled as of late. He is 2-3-1 in his last six fights and is the model for inconsistency. If he loses to a fighter not ranked in the Top 15, he will surely find himself without a rankings spot come next week.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC Vegas 87 Fight Card:

UFC Vegas 87 Main Event On ESPN+:

265 lbs.: Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev

UFC Vegas 87 Main Card on ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):

205 lbs.: Tyson Pedro vs. Vitor Petrino
125 lbs.: Muhammad Mokaev vs. Alex Perez
185 lbs.: Eryk Anders vs. Jamie Pickett
135 lbs.: Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Bekzat Almakhan
125 lbs.: Stephen Erceg vs. Matt Schnell

UFC Vegas 87 ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (1 p.m. ET):

155 lbs.: Ludovit Klein vs. A.J. Cunningham
135 lbs.: Javid Basharat vs. Aiemann Zahabi
135 lbs.: Vinicius Oliveira vs. Bernardo Sopai
185 lbs.: Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Claudio Ribeiro
155 lbs.: Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Loik Radzhabov

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

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 87 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN+) at 4 p.m. ET.

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