UFC Vegas 91 start time, full fight card details | Nicolau vs. Perez (2024)

After a rare week off to get over the UFC 300 hangover, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is right back at UFC APEX to stage UFC Vegas 91 later TONIGHT (Sat., April 27, 2024) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Headlining the ESPN+-streamed event will be a men’s Flyweight fight between Matheus Nicolau vs. Alex Perez. In the co-main event, Ryan Spann battles Bogdan Guskov in a Light Heavyweight affair.

What’s Hot:

The Flyweight division — perhaps thanks to a spectacular and exciting quadralogy between Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo — is still alive and well on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) roster despite past rumblings of its eventual demise. And the promotion’s next two events will be headlined by four talented 125 pounders. Indeed, at UFC 301 next weekend (Sat., May 4, 2024), division champion, Alexandre Pantoja, will defend his title against Steve Erceg (yes, you read that correctly).

This week, however, two struggling contenders — who are still ranked in the Top 10 — will collide to see who gets back in the win column as Nicolau takes on late replacement, Perez. Nicolau had his six-fight win streak snapped by Brandon Royval, who knocked him out one year ago in the first round. Speaking of which, that’s a pretty lengthy layoff for Nicolau, so it will be interesting to see just how he reacts coming off the loss and time on the sidelines.

As for Perez, he agreed to take the fight after Manel Kape bowed out with an injury — the second time he’s been forced out of a fight against Nicolau. Perez taking the fight is a pretty smart move because he is on a three-fight losing streak, and should he lose this fight it won’t hurt his stock (at least not that much) because he is doing UFC a solid. A win, on the other hand, puts him back in the win column by taking out a Top 5 opponent. It’s pretty much win-win for him.

What’s Not:

We just came off the “best card in MMA history,” so let’s not start complaining too much here. It’s not that deep, sure, but it is still made up of some intriguing and competitive bouts.

Original Card Vs. Actual Card:

The event was originally set to be headlined by Kape taking an Nicolau before a rib injury forced Kape out of the fight, paving the way for Perez to step in and fill the void. Anshul Jubli withdrew from his scheduled bout against Maheshate Hayisaer for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Gabriel Benitez, who is looking to get back into the win column after losing to Jim Miller via submission earlier this year. That loss was “Moggly’s” third in last four fights, so he needs a win in a big way. As for Hayisaer, he is winless (0-2) in his first two fights inside the Octagon, so another loss could send him packing. Lando Vannatta withdrew from his fight against UFC newcomer, James Llontop, and was replaced by Gabriel Green.

Injuries:

Other than Kape’s unfortunate injury, no other fights were axed as a result of health concerns.

New Blood:

Llontop will make his Octagon debut after earning his spot on UFC’s roster following an impressive win against Malik Lewis on Contender Series in Sept. 2023. “Goku” is currently on a 12-fight win streak, racking up six knockout wins during that span. As for his opponent, Chris Padilla, he will also be making his promotional debut. He has fought just about everywhere, competing for Bellator MMA, BRAVE, King of the Cage among other promotions. Now, he gets to prove his worth on the biggest stage of them all.

Jhonata Diniz earned his spot on UFC’s roster after an impressive showing on Contender Series, defeating Eduardo Neves via first round knockout. In fact, since making his debut in 2022, Diniz has won all six of his fights in the first round via strikes. Whether or not he can keep that streak going inside the Octagon remains to be seen, and he will try to do that to Austen Lane who — interestingly enough — is coming off a first round knockout loss at the hands of Justin Tafa.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

In women’s Strawweight action, Ketlen Souza looks to notch her first win with the promotion after coming up short in her debut against Karine Silva in June 2023. She will be facing off against Marnic Mann, who also threw up a dud in her promotional debut against Josefine Lindgren Knutsson.

In the Heavyweight division, Don’Tale Mayes aims for a trip back to the winner’s circle and a bit more consistency when he goes toe-to-toe against Caio Machado. Mayes is 1-2-1 in his last four outings, while Machado had his seven-fight win streak snapped at the hands Mick Parkin in his UFC debut back in Nov. 2023.

In Lightweight action, both Austin Hubbard and Michal Figlak are coming off losses and are in dire need of a win. The unfortunate part about this is that one man will be losing his second straight, unless there’s a draw or a dreaded “No Contest.”

Long-time UFC veteran, Rani Yahya, is now in his thirteenth year with the promotion and has never really gotten over the hump. He is coming off a tough loss at the hands of Montel Jackson, who knocked him out in the first round more than one year ago. He will try to get back on track against Victor Henry, whose fight against Javid Basharat was ruled a “No Contest” in 2023.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

In her first three fights under the UFC banner, Na Liang has come up short. To make matters worse, she was stopped by (technical) knockout on each occasion, which makes her a prime candidate to get cut should she lose her fourth straight when she goes head-to-head against Ivana Petrovic. Speaking of which, Petrovic could use a win of her own after throwing up a stinker in her UFC debut, losing to Luana Carolina via unanimous decision one year ago.

LIVE! Stream UFC Vegas 91 On ESPN+

EXCITING FLYWEIGHT MATCHUP! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to its APEX venue in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., April 27, 2024, with an action-packed, five-round main event featuring flyweight finisher Matheus Nicolau taking on veteran Alex Perez. In UFC Vegas 91’s ESPN+-streamed co-main event, Ryann Spann meets Bogdan Guskov in the light heavyweight division.

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