Flyweights
NR | Kleydson Rodrigues (7-1, 0-0 UFC) vs. NR | C.J. Vergara (9-3-1, 0-1 UFC)Rodrigues was one of the standouts of this most recent season of Dana White’s Contender Series. A bit of a mystery man coming off the Brazilian scene, Rodrigues impressively shut down Santo Curatolo to earn a contract, showing some solid defensive wrestling and putting together plenty of effective offense. After a bit of a delay, “KR” finally makes his UFC debut in a potentially fun bout against Vergara, who finds himself suddenly in need of a win. Vergara was another Contender Series participant in 2021, and the hope was that his contract-earning victory was a moment where he turned a corner. Up until that point, Vergara was an entertaining scrapper who needed to win wars of attrition, so it was nice to see him put down Bruno Korea in just 41 seconds with some brutal combinations and a knee to the body. However, Vergara’s UFC debut, a November loss to Ode Osbourne, dulled most of that momentum. It was a solid enough performance in a clear defeat, but it did raise the worry that Vergara just does not have the level of speed or athleticism to find consistent success in the shark tank that is the UFC’s flyweight division. He is still extremely durable, so he might gut out a win here, but this figures to be another fight where Rodrigues pours on the offense against an opponent who refuses to go away.
FEELY'S PREDICTION: The pick is Rodrigues via decision.
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