The UFC returns to the confines of the Apex for the fourth time this year this coming Saturday, with UFC Vegas 88, which includes three fights that are going under the radar.
The event is headlined by a totally uninspiring heavyweight fight between Tai Tuivasa and Marcin Tybura, two fighters coming in off a loss.
‘Bam Bam’ Tuivasa is on a three-fight losing skid which has seen him drop to rank nine in the heavyweight division. The Pole, Tybura, lost his last outing to the current interim champion, Tom Aspinall, and he currently occupies rank 10.
With such a mediocre fight set to headline the event, it has led me to dig out a few fights on the undercard that will be at least worthwhile.
Christian Rodriguez (10-1) vs Isaac Dulgarian (6-0)
This scheduled featherweight matchup comes three fights into the main card and includes a fighter who has finished all of his professional fights in the first round.
‘The Midwest Choppa’ Isaac Dulgarian debuted last time out, pulling off the upset against the impressive prospect, Francis Marshall. The 27-year-old had to wait longer than expected for his UFC debut as he was originally scheduled to fight Dan Argueta a whole seven months prior.
Despite the delay, Dulgarian made his long-awaited debut and made an immediate splash, showcasing his dominant wrestling background, paired with his violent ground-and-pound.
Christian Rodriguez on the other hand has built up a reputation for taking fighters 0’s. In his last two outings, he has handed both Raul Rosas Jr and Cameron Saaiman their first career losses. The extra intrigue with this fight is that this will mark Christian Rodriguez’s return to 145lbs after he has missed the bantamweight limit three times already during his short UFC tenure.
Joshua Culibao (11-2-1) vs Danny Silva (8-1)
There is a good reason why this fight has floated under the radar and that is because it is only the third fight of the night.
Other than that reason, there is no way this fight should be looked past. Although Joshua Culibao is coming in off the back of a loss, it was to the undefeated Lerone Murphy and it was in fact, a close fight.
The 29-year-old Australian is a beautifully technical kickboxer which makes him very exciting to watch. Prior to his loss to the Englishman, Culibao picked up an impressive win against fellow striker, Melsik Baghdasaryan, showing a different side to his game by securing the second-round submission.
27-year-old opponent, Danny Silva, will be making his promotional debut after winning one of the greatest back-and-forth fights in Contender Series history. If you haven’t seen that fight between Danny Silva and Angel Pacheco, do yourself a favor.
Head-coached by Cub Swanson, Silva will be hoping to pick up what would be a massive win in his first fight under the UFC banner.
Charalampos Grigoriou (8-3) vs Chad Anheliger (12-7)
Don’t let the records of these two fighters fool you. Opening up the night sees two hard-hitting bantamweights throw down, in a fight that has been put together on late notice.
‘Pampos’ Grigoriou was originally scheduled to make his full UFC debut against Toshiomi Kazama, after a big knockout win on the Contender Series last year. Despite that, Kazama pulled out leaving the Cypriot without an opponent.
In stepped Chad Anheliger who is coming in off the back of consecutive losses, a trend he is looking to buck in this fight.
Charalampos Grigoriou will be just the second Cypriot fighter to compete in the UFC after Costas Philippou pathed the way for him over nine years ago. The 31-year-old bantamweight trains at Serra-Longo with the likes of Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili, and is head-coached by one of the best in the game, Ray Longo.
With this being Anheliger’s fourth UFC fight, it has the potential to be his last, with him likely only being on a four-fight deal. At 37 years old, an impressive win here is imperative for the Canadian.
Although the utterly uninspiring main event is reflective of the venue, the above three fights are ones that should at least inject some excitement into the warehouse.