The UFC closes out another excellent year of numbered events at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in style this weekend.
The Flyweight division is being injected with new blood as Kai Asakura makes his UFC debut in a title fight against current champion Alexandre Pantoja in the main event.
A huge welterweight title elimination fight takes place as the co main event as Shavkat Rakhmonov takes on Ian Garry in a contest that huge huge ramifications for the division.
It’s a stacked card and we have done our best to find some winner for those partaking in a bet.
Flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja is looking for a third title defence since this time last year when he headlines UFC 310 on Sunday.
He first won UFC gold by defeating Brendon Moreno via split decision and has since beaten Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg.
Kai Asakura is a two-time champion in the Bantamweight division in Rizin who has lost only four times in 25 pro MMA fights.
That record, and the fact that this division lacks a lot of depth, means he gets a shot at gold on debut as he looks to become the first Japanese champion in UFC history.
He has to overcome an extremely well rounded mixed martial artist to win and another point to consider is that he did miss weight at bantamweight in his last fight with Rizin.
The fact that he must beat the scale as well as a very dangerous grappler such as Pantoja points to a victory for the experienced champion in my opinion.
Two undefeated fighters go head to head in a mouth watering Co-Main Event fight.
Shavkat Rakhmonov has finished every one of his 18 professional MMA opponents and Irish prospect Ian Garry comes into the fight with a perfect 15-0 record, eight of which have been in the UFC.
Rakhmonov is an incredibly gifted submission artist who has won 10 of his 18 fights via this method including five of six inside the UFC octagon.
Ian Garry may want to avoid the canvas for this matchup and his last three fights have required the judge’s to decide the winner.
No one has been able to solve the Rakhmonov puzzle as yet and I don’t believe Garry will be that man.
Former interim UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane returns to the octagon on his way back to a title fight.
He touched UFC gold by defeating Derrick Lewis back in 2021 but lost it against Francis Ngannou in his next fight, incredibly by being out grappled.
The Frenchman again had his chance to regain the title in March of 2023 but was submitted by Jon Jones.
Alexander Volkov is a former K1 kickboxing champion who has been at the top of the division for a long time, failing against only the top contenders in the division along the way.
Four UFC losses against Derrick Lewis, Curtis Blaydes, Ciryl Gane and Tom Aspinall have denied him a shot at the title but he comes in on the back of four straight wins.
This is a tantalising contest and I’m confident that one man is going to sleep.