This week’s installment of UFC is set for the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas this Saturday night. For Fight Night 203, the headliner is a light heavyweight bout between Magomed Ankalaev and one-time UFC Light Heavyweight Championship challenger Thiago Santos. The co-main event pits Song Yadong against Marlon Moraes in a bantamweight bout. You can catch the whole night’s action on ESPN+. Check out the complete card and our UFC betting predictions on the main events.
UFC Fight Night 203: Santos vs Ankalaev Preview
Main Card (ESPN+)
Thiago Santos vs Magomed Ankalaev (Light Heavyweight)Marlon Moraes vs Song Yadong (Bantamweight)
Sodiq Yusuff vs Alex Caceres (Featherweight)
Khalil Rountree Jr vs Karl Roberson (Light Heavyweight)
Drew Dober vs Terrance McKinney (Lightweight)
Alex Pereira vs Bruno Silva (Middleweight)
Preliminary Card (ESPN+)
Matthew Semelsberger vs A.J. Fletcher (Welterweight)J.J. Aldrich vs Gillian Robertson (Women’s Flyweight)
Trevin Jones vs Javid Basharat (Bantamweight)
Damon Jackson vs Kamuela Kirk (Featherweight)
Sabina Mazo vs Miranda Maverick (Women’s Flyweight)
Daicha Lungiambula vs Cody Brundage (Middleweight)
Guido Cannetti vs Kris Moutinho (Bantamweight)
Tafon Nchukwi vs Azamat Murzakanov (Light Heavyweight)
Thiago Santos (22-9, +385) vs Magomed Ankalaev (15-1, -525)
is Santos’ first chance to string together consecutive wins in a few years, but this fighter, who started out developing a reputation for violent finishes (particularly with the kicking game). However, fighters who can withstand his power for a time can disrupt him and turn the tables up close. Eric Spicely did this with the most brutality, but David Branch and Gegard Mousasi have also succeeded by moving into his striking zone and then overtaking the fight. When he lost to Branch, Santos moved to light heavyweight, which worked well, as he became the top contender in under a year. He got a title fight against Jon Jones but lost in bizarre fashion, blowing out one knee in the second round but using his strong kicking game to keep the fight going – and pushing all the way to a controversial split-decision loss. Finding that momentum again has been a challenge, although he looked like his old self in a fight against current champion Glover Teixeira before succumbing to a third-round stoppage. In 2021, he had two boring fights, against Aleksandar Rakic and Johnny Walker; in both cases, the fighters were willing to stay at distance, but Santos did edge Walker on the cards, so he is on the fringe of the contenders’ circle.Ankalaev entered the UFC in 2018 hyped as someone who would become a contender almost immediately. He had about 30 seconds left in his debut against Paul Craig, easily in control, but then Craig slapped a triangle choke on him, and somehow he could not escape, so Ankalaev had to tap out in the last second of the fight. He has not lost since; coming into 2021, he won four of five via knockout. He likes to move at a more measured pace, but his two victories against Ion Cutelaba show that, if an opponent wants to advance and show pressure, he can win that way too. If both fighters keep their distance at the start, expect the one trailing in points after a couple of rounds to press the issue, which should lead to Ankalaev bringing his wrestling to bear.
Final Prediction:
Ankalaev wins via stoppage
Marlon Moraes (23-9-1, +205) vs Yadong Song (18-5-1, 1 NC, -255)
is Moraes’ chance to turn things around after a strong start in the promotion. He went all the way to a title fight against Henry Cejudo in 2019 and looked like he would win, but then Cejudo decided to see if he could crash through Moraes’ power, a gambit which worked and brought Cejudo the third-round finish. Moraes bounced back against Jose Aldo, but after that, he has seen the same problems he had in the Cejudo fight. He basically uses striking bursts to move to a finish or at least scare his opponents, but Cory Sandhagen showed that wouldn’t work by moving in with volume of his own and then delivering a wheel kick finish. Moraes tried to make wrestling his forte, but then he got knocked out by Rob Font in the first round and had his fight against Merab Dvalishvili move from early success into a second-round stoppage loss.Yadong Song is a young prospect (24 years old) who has impressed in UFC, including a brutal knockout of Alejandro Perez in the first round. His approach is a bit too measured, as he waits too long to strike and finish; this tendency lured him into a draw with Cody Stamann and led to his first loss in UFC last March, as he fell to Kyler Phillips. He last won in November, knocking out Julio Arce, which could be a sign that he is making better use of his power. The thought here is that Song will use the first round to feel Moraes out – and then finish things.
Final Prediction:
Song wins via knockout
UFC Betting Odds
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