UFC Vegas 109 fight week rolls on. For the second time in as many weekends, and the last time for a while, the No. 1 MMA promotion in the world sets up shop inside the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, NV.
Saturday night, the Apex plays host to this week’s edition of UFC Fight Night, UFC Vegas 109. If you’re watching the show from inside the United States, ESPN (linearly) and ESPN+ (streaming media) will once again carry the schedule of events live gavel-to-gavel. Roman Dolidze will meet Anthony Hernandez in the main event of the evening.
Live action begins Saturday evening at 4:30 pm ET/ 1:30 pm PT on ESPN and ESPN+ with the prelims. Main card action follows at 7 pm ET/ 4 pm PT on the same channel and streaming platform. If there are no adjustments to the bout order, the final version of the show features 12 fights.
UFC Vegas 109 Featured Prelim: Julius Walker vs. Rafael Cerqueira
At the top of the bill for the prelims on Saturday night, you’ll be seeing a clash at 205 lbs. Julius Walker (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will be in search of his first win in Dana White’s promotion for the second time when he meets Rafael Cerqueira (11-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC), who will also be looking to get into victory lane for the first time under the UFC banner. All fights mentioned herein are an advertised three rounds at five minutes per round.
Walker will enter UFC Vegas 109 having posted a mark of 4-1 in his last five fights. Back in February, he made his UFC promotional debut in Seattle, losing by way of split decision to Alonzo Menifield (17-5-1 MMA, 10-5-1 UFC) after three rounds of action.
Menifield’s victory netted him the $50,000 (USD) Fight of the Night Award in the post-fight press conference. Saturday’s UFC Vegas 109 featured prelim will be Walker’s sophomore effort in the promotion. Can he bounce back?
Meanwhile, Rafael Cerqueira has gone 3-2 in his last five fights. At the moment, he’s dropped two fights in a row, and like Walker, his latest fight was in Seattle. On Feb. 22, he was on the receiving end of a first-round knockout (combination punches) for the second consecutive fight, this time versus Modestas Bukauskas (18-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC.)
This is his third fight in the UFC, but this contest brings some added pressure to the Cerqueira camp. A third loss in the UFC Vegas 109 featured prelim will make their fighter’s leash in the promotion shorter.
UFC Vegas 109 Co-Featured Prelim: Elijah Smith vs. Toshiomi Kazama
Immediately beforehand, the UFC Vegas 109 co-featured prelim happens at bantamweight when Elijah Smith (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) makes his second walk to the Octagon vs. Toshiomi Kasama (11-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC.) Smith comes in with a record of 5-0 in his last five fights as part of a six-fight winning streak.
He was successful in his UFC debut last time out, besting Vince Morales (16-10 MMA, 3-8 UFC) by unanimous decision in February at the Apex. When a fighter is on a hot streak, like Elijah Smith is right now, he’s at his most dangerous. Can he make it six wins in a row?
Across the way, Toshiomi Kazama has gone 2-3 over his last five fights. He’ll be ending a 51-week layoff on Saturday night. Last August, he locked in a triangle choke submission versus Charalampos Grigoriou (8-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC.) Downtime has become habitual for Kazama.
Since the start of 2023, he’s only fought three times, going 1-2 in that stretch. How much ring rust does he have going into this one?
UFC Vegas 109: Joselyne Edwards vs. Priscilla Cachoeira
Also on the UFC Vegas 109 undercard, women’s bantamweight action will feature when Joselyne Edwards (15-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) meets Priscilla Cachoeira (13-6 MMA, 5-6 UFC.) Edwards will come in with a 3-2 mark in her last five contests. Currently, she’s won two in a row.
On April 26, she scored a first-round knockout (hooks) versus Chelsea Chandler (6-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in Kansas City, KS. Cachoeira wasn’t Edwards’ original opponent for Saturday night, as she was slated to fight Mayra Bueno Silva before she had to withdraw from the card.
How has Edwards adjusted to the change in opponent? Only time will tell.
In the other corner, Priscilla Cachoeira has posted a record of 3-2 herself over the course of her past five fights. Last March, she finished Josiane Nunes (10-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) with an uppercut inside the first round of the fight. With both fighters having knocked out their respective opponents last time out, who will land the first big punch?
Given recent history, the first big punch of the fight may be the only big punch of the fight.
Final Thoughts
Which prelim or prelims are you looking forward to on UFC Vegas 109? Let us know in the comments.
