UFC 314 is upon us. On Saturday night, Dana White‘s promotion heads down to the Sunshine State, specifically Miami and Kaseya Center, the home court of the NBA’s Miami Heat, for the last UFC show before a bye week over the Easter holiday weekend.
This week’s event is the second of three cards from the No. 1 MMA promotion in the world in the fourth month of the year. After next Saturday’s bye, the promotion will return to live action the weekend of April 26.
That night, the Octagon will touch down in Kansas City for a UFC Fight Night inside T-Mobile Arena. More on that card when the time comes.
As far as this week’s event is concerned, UFC 314 begins with the early prelims Saturday evening at 6 pm ET/ 3 pm PT on ESPN2, ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass. Late prelims follow at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT on ESPN and ESPN+. The UFC 314 main card closes out the night at 10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
UFC 314 Featured Prelim: No. 15 Contender Dan Ige vs. Sean Woodson
Our focus on this day is the undercard. At the top of the bill on the prelims is a contest at 145 between No. 15 contender Dan Ige (18-9 MMA, 10-8 UFC), a 2017 alumnus of Contender Series, and Sean Woodson (13-1-1 MMA, 7-1-1 UFC), a 2019 graduate of the Tuesday night MMA promotion.
Dan Ige, nicknamed “50K”, has gone 2-3 in his last five MMA bouts. Last October, he traveled to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to square off against Lerone Murphy (16-0-1 MMA, 8-0-1 UFC) in UFC 308, losing by way of unanimous decision after three rounds. Murphy just fought last Saturday in UFC Vegas 105, scoring a unanimous decision win over Josh Emmett in the main attraction.
Ige is currently on a two-fight losing streak and has had almost six months to think about what went wrong for him back in the fall. His opponent on the other side of the cage is a tough customer at the shop, however.
Across the way, Dan Ige, nicknamed “50K”, has posted a record of 4-0-1 in his last five fights going into UFC 314 on Saturday. At the moment, he’s on a seven-fight unbeaten streak.
Right before the UFC’s winter break last December, he trekked to Tampa and scored a first-round knockout by way of hooks with two seconds remaining on the clock over Fernando Padilla (16-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC) from Amalie Arena. This man is on a roll of late, having gotten his hand raised in each of the last four contests.
Can he keep it up in Miami on Saturday night? Tune in and find out.
UFC 314 Co-Featured Prelim: No. 1 Contender Yan Xiaonan vs. No. 3 Contender Virna Jandiroba
Immediately beforehand, the co-featured bout of the undercard sees top contenders at strawweight lock horns in the famed Octagon when No. 1 contender Yan Xiaonan (19-4, 1 NC MMA, 9-3 UFC) makes her 26th career walk to the cage versus No. 3 contender Virna Jandiroba (21-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC). Had this been a UFC Fight Night rather than a premium event, this particular fight would have been the headliner in all probability.
Yan Xiaonan will enter UFC 314 this weekend with a record of 3-2 in her last five fights. Last November in Macau, she bested Tabitha Ricci (11-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) via unanimous decision after three rounds.
This victory returned her to the win column after she saw a two-fight winning streak snapped at the hands of Zhang Weili (26-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) about a year ago at the landmark UFC 300 in Las Vegas for the strawweight title. She’s right on the cusp of getting a rematch for the gold at 115 lbs. Can Yan Xiaonan pick up the victory on Saturday?
Meanwhile, Virna Jandiroba has gone 4-1 in her last five appearances ahead of UFC 314. At the moment, she’s won four bouts in succession. Back in July of last year, she finished Amanda Lemos (15-4-1 MMA, 9-4-1 UFC) with an armbar in the second round.
This is Jandiroba’s first walk to the cage in 2025 after having a planned fight last December against Tatiana Suarez (10-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) get postponed ahead of the event due to the latter being injured. While she’s on a winning streak ahead of UFC 314, the question of ring rust has reared its head once more going into the weekend.
An almost nine-month hiatus between fights can’t be easy for a fighter of Jandiroba’s caliber. Will she be able to shake off the ring rust on Saturday night?
UFC 314: Jim Miller vs. Chase Hooper
Also on the UFC 314 undercard, you’ll see a lightweight fixture matching 57-fight veteran Jim Miller (38-18, 1 NC MMA, 27-17, 1 NC UFC) against Chase Hooper (15-3-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC). Miller has posted a record of 3-2 in his last five appearances.
Last November, Miller sent Damon Jackson (23-8-1, 1 NC MMA, 6-6-1, 1 NC UFC) into retirement with a first-round guillotine choke submission inside Madison Square Garden during UFC 309. Jim Miller’s own retirement isn’t that far off.
After UFC 309, Miller mentioned that he’d like to retire from the sport after his 50th UFC appearance. UFC 314 is the latest stop on his retirement tour, so can he pick up a second straight win?
In the other corner, Chase Hooper will be coming in with a record of 4-1 in his last five MMA contests and has won four in a row. Late last year, he stopped Clay Guida (38-25 MMA, 18-19 UFC) with a first-round armbar submission in a rematch of a grappling contest between the two from December of 2022, won by Hooper with a calf slicer.
This was Guida’s final fight with the UFC, as he was released from the promotion in January of this year. As far as Chase Hooper is concerned, he’s on a hot streak ahead of UFC 314, so can he keep it up?
Final Thoughts
Which prelim or prelims on UFC 314 are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments section.
