Preview: UFC 298 Prelims

Light Heavyweights
Mingyang Zhang (16-6 overall) vs. Brendson Ribeiro (15-5, 1 N/C)
Odds: Zhang (-142), Ribeiro (+120)

This should be a banger, as neither of these UFC newcomers get paid by the proverbial hour. When the UFC put on their "Road to UFC" tournament in 2022, they added a few supplemental fights that served as prospect showcases, which is where Zhang earned his contract. Zhang had gone somewhat under the radar as a heavyweight on the Chinese scene, but he looked sharp in scoring a quick and brutal knockout of George Tokkos, a well-tested fighter that was an extremely heavy favorite. It's taken over a year and a half for Zhang to make his UFC debut, but this bout against Brazil's Ribeiro should be worth the wait in terms of violence. Ribeiro's suffered his lumps during his regional career, but it's almost always in the name of action; "The Gorilla" is a quick athlete that usually hunts for the quick finish while remaining vulnerable to getting finished himself. This should be a race to a knockout, and while Zhang might be the more durable fighter, Ribeiro looks like the much quicker fighter that should beat him to the literal punch; the pick is Ribeiro via first-round knockout.

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