Preview: UFC Fight Night 216 Prelims

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s final show of 2022 on Saturday offers an intriguing slate of eight prelims at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Cheyanne Vlismas and Cory McKenna take the featured slot in a well-made women’s strawweight affair, but there are some more relevant gems further down the UFC Fight Night 216 lineup. Ranked flyweights David Dvorak and Manel Kape square off in an excellent pairing, and Said Nurmagomedov takes on Saidyokub Kakhramonov in an under-the-radar battle inside a packed bantamweight division. Meanwhile, Julian Marquez has been a reliably exciting fighter, for better or for worse, and beyond his confrontation with Deron Winn at 185 pounds, there is a cadre of the usual prospects and Dana White’s Contender Series alumni that should provide something entertaining as it shakes out.

Now to the preview for the UFC Fight Night “Cannonier vs. Strickland” prelims:

Women’s Strawweights

Cheyanne Vlismas (7-2, 2-1 UFC) vs. Cory McKenna (7-2, 2-1 UFC)

ODDS: Vlismas (-190), McKenna (+160)

Most of the headlines surrounding Vlismas during her UFC career have centered around her personal life, so it is nice to see her finally get back to making a name for herself inside the cage. “The Warrior Princess” impressed on DWCS in 2020 as a well-rounded talent who still needed experience to work some things out, so it is not entirely a shock that she was unprepared for the curveball of Montserrat Ruiz’s grappling-heavy game in her UFC debut. Vlismas rebounded well, first with a 60-second knockout of Gloria de Paula, then with a complete performance over Mallory Martin in which everything clicked for three rounds. After a yearlong layoff, Vlismas returns for a compelling clash with McKenna, whose performances have been a bit hard to parse. The baby-faced Welshwoman was also signed off Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020—in McKenna’s case with a scrappy win over Vanessa Demopoulos and at just 21 years old. She may not read as the strongest athlete, but McKenna is constantly willing to try to make things work and eventually took things over against a more physically talented opponent. That was also her path to victory in a controversial decision win over Kay Hansen in her UFC debut, which made it all the more surprising that she dropped her next fight to Elise Reed. It was the rare fight where McKenna appeared to have some physical parity, but she was unable to track Reed down and find much momentum. However, McKenna showed out in a second-round submission of Miranda Granger in August, so it looks like she should remain viable on the UFC roster for years to come. This pairing against Vlismas does look like the worst of both worlds for McKenna, though. Vlismas is the much more dynamic athlete, and she has shown a willingness to play an effective range game when a matchup like this calls for it. McKenna could find a path to make this ugly at moments, but the pick is Vlismas via clear decision.

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Vlismas vs. McKenna
Matthews vs. Semelsberger
Marquez vs. Winn
Nurmagomedov vs. Kakhramonov
Garcia vs. Hayisaer
Fakhretdinov vs. Battle
Kape vs. Dvorak
Morozov vs. Newson

Welterweights

Jake Matthews (18-5, 11-5 UFC) vs. Matthew Semelsberger (10-4, 4-2 UFC)

ODDS: Matthews (-255), Semelsberger (+215)

This is an odd bit of matchmaking, though it should result in some fun. Matthews made his UFC debut in 2014 at just 19 years old, and the hope was that “The Celtic Kid” could build on his success as a wrestler and grappler to become one of the promotion’s Australian stars. Matthews certainly has not been a prospect bust, but he has instead rounded into a solid but unspectacular fighter, hitting a few different plateaus before settling in as a solid welterweight. Matthews has won a lot more than he has lost inside the Octagon, but with an approach built around steadiness and safety, he has usually become a bit of an afterthought. Even when given a blank slate like late-career Diego Sanchez as an opponent, Matthews settled in for a comfortable decision victory rather than bringing any sort of exciting dynamism to the table. That made Matthews’ June win over Andre Fialho such a pleasant surprise. Fialho was far from a walkover opponent, and Matthews actually did well to press his advantages and build on his success, putting him away with an electric second-round finish that brought the Australian his most exciting victory in years. It was enough to expect that Matthews might get another shot at a ranked opponent, possibly on the February card in his native Australia. Instead, he is back facing another raw prospect and one coming off a loss in Semelsberger. That is no slight against Semelsberger, as the Marylander is a talented fighter in his own right, but he has clearly had to learn on the job in the UFC after getting picked up as a raw talent in 2020. To his credit, Semelsberger has obviously figured some things out when given some tough matchmaking. He was in over his head against the likes of Kalinn Williams and Alex Morono, in particular, but maintained his cardio and power over three rounds while solving the issues in front of him. Semelsberger has also made easy work of obvious wins when he has needed to with sub-20 second knockouts of Jason Witt and Martin Sano, so “Semi The Jedi” is definitely worth investing in; he just needs time to develop that he is probably not going to get here. This looks like a fight where Matthews should clearly separate himself as the better fighter, but Semelsberger also presents enough physical talent and danger that it probably will not be an impressive victory. As such, it is unclear what this really does for either fighter. The pick is Matthews via decision.

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Vlismas vs. McKenna
Matthews vs. Semelsberger
Marquez vs. Winn
Nurmagomedov vs. Kakhramonov
Garcia vs. Hayisaer
Fakhretdinov vs. Battle
Kape vs. Dvorak
Morozov vs. Newson

Middleweights

Julian Marquez (9-3, 3-2 UFC) vs. Deron Winn (7-3, 2-3 UFC)

ODDS: Marquez (-170), Winn (+145)

This should be another entertaining war involving Marquez, even if it is now a bit unclear where his career is headed. “The Cuban Missile Crisis” set a tone immediately upon his UFC debut—a back-and-forth battle with Darren Stewart in 2017 that was the best fight of the night. Marquez is not always the technically deepest fighter, but he is willing to leverage his durability into aggression and eat plenty of damage in the hopes of finishing his opponent. However, Alessio Di Chirico neutralized Marquez enough to take an uninspiring split decision, and then Marquez suffered a cascade of injuries that kept him out of action for two and a half years. Upon Marquez’s return, he was once again able to turn violence into victories over Maki Pitolo and Sam Alvey but fought a much smarter fight than usual in terms of picking his spots. That gave way to another year-plus injury layoff, this time taking Marquez out of action until his June fight against Gregory Rodrigues. That figured to be a fight where Marquez could leverage his durability once again, but instead, it turned out to be a flat performance that saw Rodrigues quickly damage and knock out the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate with shocking ease. If that was a sign that Marquez’s career has caught up with him sooner than expected, it could be a worrying sign going forward, even in this matchup. Winn is an obvious talent, a standout wrestler who has put in plenty of work to build out a solid striking game that can bring an impressive amount of volume. However, the issue for Winn will always be that he is a 5-foot-6 middleweight, roughly the height of a typical bantamweight but so thickly built that a cut down to welterweight or lower appears entirely out of the question; Winn has even had issues making it down to 185 pounds. That has left Winn stuck when it comes to mounting an effective level of offense against most opponents. Striking is difficult given his typical reach disadvantage, and while Winn can usually find some early success with his wrestling, that process is laborious enough to leave him gassed by the later rounds. There is a chance he could thread the needle here, particularly with Marquez being more willing than ever to cede initiative to his opponent and having some potential durability issues. With that said, this is another matchup where it is hard to favor Winn and his size deficit in a war of attrition. The pick is Marquez via second-round submission.

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Vlismas vs. McKenna
Matthews vs. Semelsberger
Marquez vs. Winn
Nurmagomedov vs. Kakhramonov
Garcia vs. Hayisaer
Fakhretdinov vs. Battle
Kape vs. Dvorak
Morozov vs. Newson

Bantamweights

#15 BW | Said Nurmagomedov (16-2, 5-1 UFC) vs. Saidyokub Kakhramonov (10-2, 2-0 UFC)

ODDS: Nurmagomedov (-110), Kakhramonov (-110)

Men’s bantamweight remains the UFC’s most loaded division, as this is yet another in a seemingly weekly parade of fights between underrated competitors looking to carve out a niche. Nurmagomedov is not related to Khabib Nurmagomedov, and as Dagestanis go, his style is much more in the mold of Zabit Magomedsharipov than any of the former lightweight champion’s kin. A tall and rangy bantamweight, Nurmagomedov would rather keep his opponents at bay with an impressively quick and sharp kicking game. That has been enough to quickly take out his less durable competition, though Nurmagomedov has still shown an ability to hold his own on the mat. His January bout against Cody Stamann saw the American get in on a takedown attempt but fall victim to a guillotine choke in just 47 seconds. The occasional opponent has been able to pressure and clip Nurmagomedov at times, but thus far, Raoni Barcelos is the only one to turn that into enough sustained success for a victory. That figures to be the blueprint for Kakhramonov. Uzbekistan’s Kakhramonov has an approach built around pressure above all else, and he has impressed thus far in his two UFC fights to date. His late-notice debut against Trevin Jones was relatively even until a third-round finish, but he followed it with a dominant victory over Ronnie Lawrence in July. Kakhramonov’s aggression comes at the expense of his defense, even if he has typically been able to eat whatever offense comes his way and keep charging forward. As far as this fight is concerned, he should throw enough wild offense to catch Nurmagomedov off-guard a few times, but it is hard not to see the Russian making up the difference as Kakhramonov continues to charge into some precise offense. If nothing else, this should be all action. The pick is Nurmagomedov via decision.

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Vlismas vs. McKenna
Matthews vs. Semelsberger
Marquez vs. Winn
Nurmagomedov vs. Kakhramonov
Garcia vs. Hayisaer
Fakhretdinov vs. Battle
Kape vs. Dvorak
Morozov vs. Newson

Lightweights

Rafa Garcia (13-3, 2-3 UFC) vs. Maheshate Hayisaer (9-1, 1-0 UFC)

ODDS: Garcia (-130), Hayisaer (+110)

It will be interesting to see what Hayisaer can put together. The Chinese prospect was essentially a question mark heading into his 2021 Dana White’s Contender Series fight against Achilles Estremadura but looked good in a clear decision win. Hayisaer is still obviously raw and has some work to do defensively, but he had enough size, athleticism and power to hold together a disjointed game for 15 effective minutes. His proper UFC debut in June also showed just how dangerous the 23-year-old can be, as he faceplanted Steve Garcia in just 74 seconds with a sharp counter. He looks to follow up that performance with a win over another Garcia—no relation. Mexico’s Garcia was a successful regional fighter who looked set to slide out of the UFC after a rough start with the promotion, but he has looked solid in his last three fights. He managed to find a path to his wrestling in wins over Natan Levy and Jesse Ronson, and what looked like a rough matchup on paper against Drakkar Klose turned into a solid showing in a loss. Garcia does not have the package of skills that signals a huge move up the ladder, but he should be a perennially tough out and a rough test for Hayisaer here. Garcia fights with enough pressure that he could just walk into a Hayisaer knockout blow, but he has been historically durable and could control some large swaths of this fight with his wrestling. It is far from a lock, but this looks like a bit too much too soon for a talented prospect. The pick is Garcia via decision.

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Vlismas vs. McKenna
Matthews vs. Semelsberger
Marquez vs. Winn
Nurmagomedov vs. Kakhramonov
Garcia vs. Hayisaer
Fakhretdinov vs. Battle
Kape vs. Dvorak
Morozov vs. Newson

Welterweights

Rinat Fakhretdinov (19-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Bryan Battle (8-1, 3-0 UFC)

ODDS: Fakhretdinov (-135), Battle (+115)

Battle’s cut to 170 pounds has certainly made things more interesting. He won the middleweight tournament on Season 29 of “The Ultimate Fighter” as a raw prospect who was riding a risky path to success. Battle was essentially a high-paced scrapper who relied on outlasting and breaking down his opponents, regardless of how much offense he had to eat in the process. That resulted in some rough moments even during his eventual wins, and without appearing to be much of an elite athlete as a middleweight, his August cut down to welterweight figured to be a smart move to gain some physical parity. The question heading into his 170-pound debut against Takashi Sato was whether the weight cut would sap some of Battle’s cardio at the pace he likes to set. That question remains unanswered, as Battle surprisingly knocked out Sato in just 44 seconds. If Battle has suddenly found some finishing ability, that completely changes the paradigm of his capabilities in his new weight class, and he can further prove himself against a tough test in Fakhretdinov. Russia’s Fakhretdinov appeared to be a bruising slugger based on most of his pre-UFC film, but “Gladiator” relied on his wrestling to salt away his UFC debut against Andreas Michailidis in June, which turned into an absolute grind. There is certainly some power behind everything Fakhretdinov does, but at the moment, that seems to sum up his two paths to victory. If he cannot score an immediate knockout, he will need to rely on being able to control his opponent over three rounds in an ugly fight. It would not be a shock if this is where Battle finally hits a physical ceiling, but the American has proven quite durable and difficult to control, so he should be able to outpace Fakhretdinov enough to get a win assuming he looks anything like his middleweight form. The pick is Battle via third-round stoppage.

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Vlismas vs. McKenna
Matthews vs. Semelsberger
Marquez vs. Winn
Nurmagomedov vs. Kakhramonov
Garcia vs. Hayisaer
Fakhretdinov vs. Battle
Kape vs. Dvorak
Morozov vs. Newson

Flyweights

#12 FLW | Manel Kape (17-6, 2-2 UFC) vs. #9 FLW | David Dvorak (20-4, 3-1 UFC)

ODDS: Kape (-240), Dvorak (+200)

This is one of the more interesting fights on the card, as the winner walks away with the best victory of his UFC career. It was good to see Kape turn things around in the back half of 2021, as the beginning of his UFC run was frustratingly unsuccessful. Kape was signed by the UFC when he was the Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight champion, having set himself apart thanks to a nuclear level of athleticism and power as a knockout artist. “Starboy” was rightfully thrown into the deep end of the UFC’s flyweight division against Alexandre Pantoja, and it was a disheartening defeat. Kape essentially waited things out and attempted to pick his spot for a knockout that never game, essentially giving away the fight with his low-output approach. Kape then attempted to wash away that performance by stepping in as a late replacement against Matheus Nicolau five weeks later, but it was much the same thing. Kape could not find a finish and suddenly found himself on the fringes of the UFC roster. Fortunately, Kape spent the rest of the year reminding everyone why he had so much hype in the first place, scoring some brutal first-round knockouts of Ode Osbourne and Zhalgas Zhumagulov. However, 2022 has essentially been a lost year, with injuries to Kape and his opponents leaving him out of action until this fight against Dvorak. A standout of his native Czech scene, Dvorak has impressed through his four UFC fights to date, particularly since “The Undertaker” did not come to the promotion with much in the way of expectations. Dvorak outpaced his first few UFC opponents with a movement-heavy style built around pressure and countering before running into Nicolau in March, struggling against the rare opponent who was technically sharper than his usual standard. Dvorak should take the lead in terms of pace here, but it will be interesting to see how much he decides to flirt with danger by attempting to draw out and counter Kape’s high-powered offense. It is an approach with which Dvorak could find some success, but the main issue is that one false move could put him at huge risk of suffering a knockout loss. The lean is that Kape can find something, but this is a well-matched fight that should serve as a huge proof of concept for the winner. The pick is Kape via second-round knockout.

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Vlismas vs. McKenna
Matthews vs. Semelsberger
Marquez vs. Winn
Nurmagomedov vs. Kakhramonov
Garcia vs. Hayisaer
Fakhretdinov vs. Battle
Kape vs. Dvorak
Morozov vs. Newson

Bantamweights

Sergey Morozov (18-5, 2-2 UFC) vs. Journey Newson (10-3, 1-2 UFC)

ODDS: Morozov (-280), Newson (+235)

This should be an enjoyable scrap between two bantamweights still looking to carve out a niche in the UFC. Kazakhstan’s Morozov had a successful regional career on the back of an approach that is a bit disjointed and inconsistent. Morozov can do a bit of everything and packs a lot of power, but his confidence in his own abilities varies wildly from moment to moment. Given an advantageous matchup, Morozov can look excellent while running through his opponent, but his UFC career has been marked by a lot of moments where he faces some resistance and needs to regroup, leading to some wild momentum swings. It is not a surprise that Morozov has alternated wins and losses through four UFC bouts—something that is also true of his opponent here. Newson is an unspectacularly well-rounded striker who can hold his own on the mat, given things last that long. Newson has enough power paired with durability issues that the middle stretch of his UFC career has seen him score a 38-second knockout of Domingo Pilarte only to then suffer a 41-second knockout against Randy Costa. Both men can get thrown off their game, but it is also unclear if either can provide enough consistent danger for the other to get any momentum truly rolling. Morozov has a bit more in terms of options when it comes to wrestling, so he gets the narrow nod in a fight that should be relatively even. The pick is Morozov via decision.

Jump To »
Vlismas vs. McKenna
Matthews vs. Semelsberger
Marquez vs. Winn
Nurmagomedov vs. Kakhramonov
Garcia vs. Hayisaer
Fakhretdinov vs. Battle
Kape vs. Dvorak
Morozov vs. Newson