Preview: UFC Fight Night 219 Prelims

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to the UFC Apex on Saturday in Las Vegas comes with a solid slate of prelims focused mostly around some interesting prospects. A women’s bantamweight clash between Lina Lansberg and Mayra Bueno Silva will take the featured slot, but the biggest deal on the undercard is probably the promotional debut of Khusein Askhabov: a 28-year-old Russian featherweight with a 23-0 record who gets an underrated test against Jamall Emmers. Beyond that, Ovince St. Preux and Philipe Lins at least provide some veteran name value to the proceedings. Other highlights include a battle between high-upside lightweight talents Nazim Sadykhov and Evan Elder, along with the debut of Dana White’s Contender Series standout Clayton Carpenter.

Now to the preview for the UFC Fight Night 219 prelims:

Women’s Bantamweights

#14 WBW | Mayra Bueno Silva (9-2-1, 4-2-1 UFC) vs. #12 WBW | Lina Lansberg (10-7, 4-6 UFC)

ODDS: Silva (-435), Lansberg (+350)

So far, so good for Silva’s move up to 135 pounds. “Sheetara” had a solid enough run at 125 pounds, and while it was running into the strength of Manon Fiorot that caused her to change weight classes, the Brazilian did have some clear issues at flyweight dealing with her opponents’ speed as a relatively straight-ahead slugger on the feet. However, Silva was a vicious enough grappler to find some submission wins once she actually closed distance on her foes—enough so that it was unclear if a move up to bantamweight would benefit her. She would be able to hold her own better as a striker, but the clear risk was that she would find herself without a path to her best weapons against larger and stronger opponents. A win over fellow converted flyweight Yanan Wu was a bit ugly, but it is a promising sign that Silva quickly found an armbar win against Stephanie Egger in August. While she figured to hit that physical wall at some point, there is a wide-open swath of the women’s bantamweight rankings that is there for the taking. For her next test, Silva faces a stout veteran in Sweden’s Lansberg. A bruising clinch artist, Lansberg was essentially brought into the UFC to lose to Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino in 2016 and without much of a plan afterwards, making it impressive that she has turned that shot into what is now an 11-fight and six-year career under the UFC banner. Given a raw prospect or a faded veteran, the “Elbow Queen” has proven capable of grinding her opponent into a pulp, even if she now seems to be at the point of diminishing returns. Coming back from a two-year pregnancy layoff at age 40 in 2022, Lansberg has struggled to stay ahead of physical battles against Pannie Kianzad and Karol Rosa. That suggests Silva should be able to win this in a straightforward war of wills, even before factoring in that the Brazilian is a much harder hitter. It figures to be grimy, but the pick is Silva via decision.

Jump To »
Lansberg vs. Silva
Askhabov vs. Emmers
Lins vs. St. Preux
Sadykhov vs. Elder
Fletcher vs. Gorimbo
Carpenter vs. Ronderos