The Ultimate Fighting Championship looks to increase its growing profile later this month, when the 74th UFC Fight Night comes to Saskatoon in Canada. It will be the first time that the highly popular MMA competition has taken place in this remote Canadian city, but many are predicting that this could be the most competitive UFC tournament yet.
UFC Fight Night 74 preview
As always there are some incredible bouts to look forward to, but it is the featherweight competition that is expected to grab the biggest headlines.
The featherweight bout will pit rising stars Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway against each other inside the SaskTel Centre. The Hawaiian native Holloway is currently fifth place in the world rankings, and has gained a phenomenal reputation for his ability to implement a variety of flying and spinning kicks that he developed during his initial kickboxing training.
However, the Brazilian Oliveira could be well placed to cause an upset, especially after his Performance Of The Night awarded win against Nik Lentz at the UFC Fight Night 67 earlier this year. But with Holloway showing fearsome recent form, there’ll be intense speculation on betting sites such as Bookies.com as to whether UFC Fight Night 74 delivers another victory for Max Holloway.
Away from the featherweight competition, there are many other fights that are getting MMA fans excited. In particular, the welterweight bout between Neil Magny and Erick Silva is expected to deliver some devastating physical performances as these two stars aim to overcome recent setbacks and reinstate themselves as champion fighters.
The Brazilian Silva was recently forced to withdraw from UFC Fight Night 70 due to visa complications, which must have been especially frustrating since he’d been shown to display promising form after his March win against Josh Koscheck.
And similarly, Magny faced a humiliating defeat earlier this year after a painful submission in the second round caused him to lose to Demian Maia.
The lightweight competition is also expected to highlight some challenging showdowns with Francisco Trinaldo facing a tough battle against the Canadian native Chad Laprise. It will be the perfect opportunity for Laprise to capitalise on some good recent results against the likes of Bryan Barberena and cement his promising reputation in front of an eager home crowd.
However, it won’t be easy as the Brazilian star Trinaldo is a long-feared veteran of MMA and has already won two UFC Fight Night competitions this year.
And with a host of other bouts and associated theatrics to enjoy, it looks like Saskatoon’s first UFC Fight Night could be a legendary affair.
