UFC Vegas 71 fight card airs live on ESPN+ from UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday, April 22. The main event is a five-round heavyweight bout between Sergei Pavlovich and Curtis Blaydes.
Sergei Pavlovich (17-1) won five bouts in a row via first-round stoppage. In his previous bout in December 2022, No. 3-ranked contender KO’d Tai Tuivasa. Also in 2022, he stopped Derrick Lewis and Shamil Abdurakhimov.
Curtis Blaydes (17-3, 1 NC) of the United States won three of his previous bouts. No. 4-ranked contender was last in action in July 2022, when he took the win via first-round TKO against Tom Aspinall, who sustained knee injury. Before that he stopped Chris Daukaus in the second round and scored a unanimous decision against Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
In the co-main event, Song Yadong (19-7-1, 1 NC) of China and Ricky Simon (20-3) of the United States battle it out at bantamweight. Yadong is looking to rebound from the defeat via fourth-round TKO against Cory Sandhagen, which snapped his three-win streak. Simon won his previous bout against Jack Shore by submission in the second round, and eyes his sixth straight victory.
Also on the main card, Brad Tavares (19-8) of the United States takes on Bruno Silva (22-8) of Brazil at middleweight. As well, Bobby Green (29-14-1) and Jared Gordon (19-6) square off in an-all American clash at lightweight. Plus, Iasmin Lucindo (13-5) of Brazil meets Brogan Walker (8-3) of the United States at women’s flyweight. In addition, Jeremiah Wells (11-2-1) faces his fellow-American Matthew Semelsberger (11-4) at welterweight.
The top of preliminary card features USA’s Ricky Glenn (22-6-2) up against his compatriot Christos Giagos (19-10) at lightweight. Also on the card, Rani Yahya (28-10-1) of Brazil faces off Montel Jackson (12-2) of the United States at bantamweight and Karol Rosa (16-4) meets Norma Dumont (8-2) in an all-Brazilian contest at women’s featherweight.
Among other bouts, Mohammed Usman (9-2) of Nigeria goes up against Junior Tafa (4-0) of Australia at heavyweight, Francis Marshall (7-0) of the United States squares off against William Gomis (11-2) of France at featherweight and Priscila Cachoeira (12-4) and Karine Silva (15-4) clash in an all-Brazilian contest at women’s flyweight. Kicking off the action, Brady Hiestand (7-2) of the United States and Batgerel Danaa (12-4) of Mongolia duel at bantamweight.
In Australia, UFC Vegas 71: Pavlovich vs Blaydes airs live on Sunday, April 23.
UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs Blaydes card
Main card
- Sergei Pavlovich vs. Curtis Blaydes
- Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon
- Brad Tavares vs. Bruno Silva
- Bobby Green vs. Jared Gordon
- Iasmin Lucindo vs. Brogan Walker-Sanchez
- Jeremiah Wells vs. Matthew Semelsberger
Preliminary card
- Ricky Glenn vs. Christos Giagos
- Rani Yahya vs. Montel Jackson
- Karol Rosa vs. Norma Dumont
- Mohammed Usman vs. Junior Tafa
- Francis Marshall vs. William Gomis
- Priscila Cachoeira vs. Karine Silva
- Brady Hiestand vs. Danaa Batgerel
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