About UFC Rio Rancho
UFC Rio Rancho will take place this Saturday, February 15th. It’s set to take place at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, with the main card being headlined by light heavyweight contenders Corey Anderson and Jan Blachowicz. This card will be filled with a ton of up and coming fighters with bright futures in the UFC. Today we will let you know the three biggest prospects to watch out for.
Brok Weaver
Brok Weaver won his UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series back in August of 2019 with a win over Devin Smyth. In that fight, Weaver showed a very unique style of striking, while also being very entertaining during his fight and after his fight in his post-fight interview. Weaver is an 18 fight veteran spending most of his career with the Island Fights promotion. He will be a top prospect to watch this Saturday as he faces off against UFC newcomer Rodrigo Vargas.
Nathaniel Wood
Nathaniel Wood will be making his fourth appearance in the octagon this Saturday. He currently holds a 3-0 record in the UFC with wins over Johnny Eduardo, Andre Ewell, and Jose Quinonez. He is a former Cage Warriors bantamweight champion and is looking to go after the title in the UFC. Standing in his way in UFC vet John Dodson who will be Wood’s biggest test to date. Dodson’s MMA career started in 2003 when Wood was only ten years old. Dodson will come into the fight with significant MMA and UFC experience advantage. If Wood can manage to get past Dodson he will be a big contender in the bantamweight division.
Merab Dvalishvili
Merab Dvalishvili has fought four times in the UFC racking up a 2-2 record in those fights. He holds wins over Brad Katona and Terrion Ware in the UFC. He also holding wins over Raufeon Stots and Tony Gravely in his Ring Of Combat days. Dvalishvili trains at Serra-Longo with fellow Long Islanders Chris Weidman, Aljamain Sterling, and Al Iaquinta. He will look to continue his climb in the UFC’s bantamweight division, but first he will have to get through Casey Kenney. Kenney is a former LFA bantamweight champion who holds a 2-0 UFC record, with wins over Ray Borg and Manny Bermudez. Kenney only has one loss on his record and that was by split decision. Making this the biggest test for Dvalishvili in his UFC tenure so far. Should he get past Kenney it will likely skyrocket him in the bantamweight rankings.
Notable Mentions
Also on the card, Michel Pereira will be taking on veteran Deigo Sanchez in the co-main event. Daniel Rodriguez will be making his debut against Tim “Dirty Bird” Means. Dequan Townsend will be fighting for the second time in two months to try and secure his spot in the company against Devin Clark. While Shanna Young and Raulian Paiva will be making their UFC debuts against Macy Chiasson and Mark De La Rosa.
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