The UFC aims to please with its upcoming card set for this weekend. Vicente Luque hopes to get his title aspirations back on track with a win over legend Rafael Dos Anjos. Cub Swanson makes his return to the Octagon and a major clash in the light-heavyweight division can potentially set either Khalil Rountree or Chris Daukas on course to challenge for a title.
UFC Fight Night: Luque vs Dos Anjos Official Preview
Brazil against Brazil in the top spot Saturday!
🇧🇷@VicenteLuqueMMA vs 🇧🇷@RdosAnjosMMA headlines #UFCVegas78 this weekend! pic.twitter.com/qaOwEMnLgc
— UFC (@ufc) August 7, 2023
Vicente Luque vs Rafael Dos Anjos
A welterweight showdown awaits 😤😤😤#UFCVegas78 | Sat. Aug 12th | Live on @ESPN / ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/fqjb3v8vmH
— UFC (@ufc) August 7, 2023
Vicente Luque was once seen as the most promising title contender in the welterweight division. The Brazilian seemed to be an almost unstoppable force who was capable of submitting or knocking out any opponent in front of him. At one time possessing an incredible record of 14-2 in the UFC with wins coming over opponents such as Belal Muhammad, Tyron Woodley, Michael Chiesa, and Randy Brown. It was a rematch against Muhammad that was set to send Luque straight into the top-5 and catapult him into the title picture. This however never materialised. Luque was unable to replicate his previous feat of knocking out Belal and suffered a unanimous decision defeat to the Palestinian fighter. While Muhammad would go on to firmly establish himself in the Welterweight title picture Luque would be forced to redeem himself against Geoff Neal. He would be finished in the third round and suffer back-to-back losses for the first time in his MMA career. Now he will be looking for redemption and to prove to both himself and the fans that he is deserving of being considered a top contender in the welterweight division.
Rafael Dos Anjos has had a storied career in MMA. Making his debut in 2004, RDA peaked when winning the coveted UFC Lightweight Championship with a dominant win over Anthony Pettis becoming Brazil’s first-ever champ in the UFC at 155 lbs. Dos Anjos would defend his title once before losing to Eddie Alvarez. Since losing his belt, RDA has jumped from between lightweight and welterweight picking up various wins and losses and acting as a stern test wherever he goes, even fighting for an Interim Welterweight title against Colby Covington back in 2018. Now coming towards the end of his career Dos Anjos has likely accepted that he is past pushing for a title shot, yet a win over Luque cements his place in the rankings and pushes him towards bigger fights and potentially bigger paydays against some of the bigger names in the division.
Co-Main Event: Cub Swanson vs Hakeem Dawodu
Another legend of the Octagon will make an appearance this weekend as Cub Swanson sets out to earn his tenth fight bonus with a hopefully impressive display against up-and-comer Hakeem Dawodu. Swanson has an impressive history in the UFC making his MMA debut back in 2004, before the UFC had even introduced their lower weight classes. Swanson established himself as one of the best featherweights in the world at WEC and following the acquisition of the promotion and the merger by the UFC he would immediately be offered a contract with the organization. During his time in the company, Swanson has faced off against the biggest names in the sport picking up wins over the likes of Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira, and Jeremy Stephens.
Admittedly Swanson has reached the end of his career now and his time in the upper echelon of the Featherweight division appears to be over, he is 3-2 in his last 5 fights and certainly still possesses enough skill and experience to be a serious challenger looking to make a name for themselves in an always competitive featherweight division.
His opponent Hakeem Dawodu will be looking to do exactly that and a win over Swanson would be an excellent addition to his CV. Dawodu is by no means a newbie to the Octagon after joining the UFC 5 years ago in 2018. He has compiled a very impressive 6-3 run in this time and at one stage was riding an impressive 5-fight win streak. A muay thai fighter with extremely technical striking Dawodu utilizes his long reach and powerful frame to expertly keep people at bay while he unloads powerful shots onto his opponents. His 5 fight win streak was broken by currently ranked fighter Movsar Evloev and Dawodu has gone 1-1 since then. Currently sitting at 1-2 in his last three fights and coming off of a loss a win for Dawodu will be vital this Saturday night to ensure that he is not set back any further in his place for a ranked number beside his name. A win over Swanson will greatly improve his confidence as well as improve his profile in the division, potentially ensuring a bigger fight not too far down the line.
Main Card Fights
Khalil Rountree Jr vs Chris Daukaus
A fight that was supposed to happen several months ago is finally going ahead, Khalil Rountree will be the one to welcome Chris Daukaus to the light-heavyweight division. Rountree will be a stern test for Daukaus as he is currently riding a 3-fight winning streak, exhibiting some of the best form that we have ever seen in his career so far. Sat at number 13 in the rankings and with big-name value due to his exciting style due to his potential for a devastating knockout, Rountree has faced some of the biggest names in the light heavyweight division. He has defeated opponents such as Paul Craig, Dustin Jacoby, and Eryk Anders. A victory over Rountree is no small feat and if Daukaus can produce an impressive performance it would be a statement of intent at his new weight class.
Formerly a heavyweight, Chris Daukaus always appeared to be undersized for his division. Generally appearing on the scale in the mid 230s and standing at 6ft 2 inches tall, he was completely outsized when competing against the likes of Derrick Lewis, Curtis Blaydes, and Jairzinho Rosenstruik. Smartly he has decided to move down a weight class now where he likely should have been competing from the beginning and should realistically stay at Light Heavyweight regardless of the result on Saturday. While a 3-fight losing streak to the names mentioned above sent him down a division, Daukaus was the proud owner of a 4-fight win streak at a time and was considered by many to be a top prospect and part of the crop with the likes of Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich. He possesses a talented skillset when it comes to striking and packs enough power to knock out several heavyweight fighters, yet when it came down to facing up a step up in quality with the opposition the size disadvantaged reared its ugly head. A faster, sleeker more agile Daukaus at a weight class more naturally suited to him will be a very interesting fight to see and could potentially announce a new contender at 205 lbs.
Polyana Viana vs Iasmin Lucindo
A women’s strawweight clash will see Polyana Viana vs Iasmin Lucindo. Viana is by far the more experienced fighter of the two with a 5-year career in the UFC already, after a somewhat turbulent start to life with the organization she has had a more fortuitous run as of recently going 3-1 in her last 4 fights, and is coming off of a performance of the night bonus after securing a first-round KO win over a veteran of the sport and former Invicta FC champion Jinh Yu Frey. Currently sitting just outside of the top 15 in her division, Viana will be looking to build on the momentum that she has built for herself and will hope an impressive performance on Saturday could get her another shot at the rankings in the future.
Iasmin Lucindo is not anywhere near as tenured in the octagon after only 2 fights in the organization so far. Still, she has gone 1-1 in her time and is coming off of a victory. A win over a name like Polyana Viana will show that she is capable of taking on a proven UFC-level fighter and would be leaps and bounds more beneficial to her standing in the division as opposed to another victory over an opponent with a similar record to herself. It is a big risk but ultimately there is no shame in losing to someone of Viana’s caliber and the amount to gain from the fight is huge for an up-and-coming prospect such as Lucindo.
AJ Dobson vs Tafon Nchukwi
Another battle of the middleweights sees two fighters who are desperately seeking a win. AJ Dobson is an alumni of Dana White’s contender series and after impressing the brass and earning a contract with a first round submission win has lost his two fights since. Currently without a win under the UFC banner, Dobson will be aware that his career is potentially on the line heading into this fight
Tafon Nchukwi is also riding a 2 fight-losing streak however he is not as green to the organization as Dobson. Continuously switching between middleweight and light-heavyweight Nchukwi has never really established himself at any particular weight class and is making his return back to middleweight after going 1-2 in his last 3 at 205lbs. Hoping that a win this Saturday will allow him to generate some momentum and more importantly consistency which is so important to progress through the rankings.
Josh Fremd vs Jamie Pickett
A middleweight clash opens up the main card as Josh Fremd takes on Jamie Pickett. Fremd is coming off a win after losing his first two fights in the UFC and will be hoping to develop a winning run now that he has truly got his feet off of the ground. He faces a solid test in Jamie Pickett, an opponent who made his debut back in 2019 with the UFC making an appearance on Dana White’s contender series. Pickett had established himself as a solid fighter in his first 5 or so bouts with the organization generally going tit for tat trading losses and wins. His last 3 fights however have all ended in defeat though they were admittedly against a high level of competition. Pickett was defeated by the younger Daukaus brother Kyle and in his most recent outing was beaten by possibly the most hyped prospect in the entire sport right now Bo Nickal. Even with the high level of opposition though, a three-fight losing streak is never a position a fighter wants to be in and if that 3 became a 4 it could be disastrous for Pickett’s chances to remain in the UFC.
