by UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MOICANO vs. NOLAN takes place Saturday, October 31 in Las Vegas at Meta APEX. The prelims will air at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT, followed by the main card airing at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. All bouts will stream live on Paramount+.
- A welterweight bout features veterans Randy Brown (20-8, fighting out of Queens, N.Y. by way of Spanish Town, Jamaica) and Carlos Leal (23-7, fighting out of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil)
- Lucia Szabová (12-0, fighting out of Bratislava, Slovakia) looks to stay perfect and make a statement in her UFC debut against Tainara Lisboa (7-4, fighting out of Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil) in a women’s flyweight bout
- No. 6 women’s bantamweight contender Yana Santos (17-8 1NC, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla. by way of Saint Petersburg, Russia) locks horns with No. 7 Luana Santos (11-2, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil)
- Dominant grappler Talita Alencar (8-1-1, fighting out of Deerfield Beach, Fla. by way of Carutapera, Maranhão, Brazil) goes toe-to-toe with Dana White’s Contender Series signee Piera Rodríguez (12-2, fighting out of Maracaibo, Venezuela) in an intriguing women’s strawweight bout
- Dana White’s Contender Series signees square off at middleweight, as Nick Klein (6-3, fighting out of Adell, Wis. by way of Milwaukee, Wis.) looks to spoil the UFC debut of Joseph Kropschot (9-3, fighting out of The Bay Area, Calif.)
- A welterweight bout features Rodrigo Sezinando (9-2, fighting out of Vancouver, B.C., Canada) and Theodor Berggren (8-4, fighting out of Umeå, Sweden)
- Hot prospect Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani (11-2, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) takes on undefeated Farman Hasanov (6-0, fighting out of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan) at welterweight
- Veterans Azamat Bekoev (20-5, fighting out of Vladikavkaz, Russia) and Andre Petroski (13-7, fighting out of Philadelphia, Pa.) clash at middleweight
- Featherweights lock horns as Dana White’s Contender Series signee Julian Erosa (31-14, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev. by way of Yakima, Wash.) meets Road to UFC Season 1 winner JeongYeong Lee (11-3, fighting out of Daegu, South Korea)
- Francis Marshall (10-3, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) takes on Gaston Bolaños (9-5, fighting out of Dublin, Calif. by way of Lima, Peru) in a featherweight bout
Here are my picks for the event.
8 Fight Predictions Below
Renato Moicano vs. Tom Nolan
Pick – Tom Nolan
Reason – This is a huge step up in competition for the relative newcomer to the UFC in Nolan. He does have the reach and height advantage and is also 11 years younger then the veteran Moicano. This can be a huge career altering win for Nolan if he can pull it off.
Randy Brown vs. Jacobe Smith
Pick – Jacobe Smith
Reason – Brown last 3 of his last 4 and has been slipping. Smith is a late replacement for Brown and that may throw him off a bit as well.
Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani vs. Farman Hasanov
Pick – Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani
Reason – Hasanov is 5-0 but hasn’t fought anyone of the caliber of Lebosnoyani. I believe the ground game of Lebosnoyani will be too much to handle for Hasanov as he is dealt his first career loss.
Francis Marshall vs. Dakota Hope
Pick – Francis Marhsall
Reason – Francis Marshall is a heavy-handed grappler coming off a decision win over Lucas Brennan. He holds height and reach advantages, mixes in wrestling and jiu-jitsu, and averages 2.71 takedowns per 15 minutes.
Dakota Hope – is an aggressive, forward-pressure striker stepping in on short notice (replacing Gastón Bolaños). He is coming off a close debut loss to Kai Kamaka III and lands a high volume of significant strikes, though he faces a significant length disadvantage against Marshall.
Nick Klein vs. Joe Kropschot
Pick – Joe Kropschot
Reason – Look for all 3 rounds to be held on the ground as both men love to grapple. This one is a toss up but the coin came up Kropschot.
Talita Alencar vs. Piera Rodriguez
Pick – Piera Rodrigues
Reason – Alencar is a decorated BJJ black belt and multi-time world champion in jiu-jitsu, relying heavily on her grappling and ground game. Rodriguez is a more explosive striker and wrestler with a 5-inch reach advantage. Both come in on 3 fight win streaks. Rodrigues has the height, reach and youth advantage, thus she is my pick.
Zach Reese vs. Mickey Gall
Pick – Zach Reese
Reason – Despite losing his last two in a row, Reese is still my pick here when you factor in Mickey Gall hasn’t won a fight since 2021. In fact, since his 4-0 start over the likes of Mike Jackson, CM Punk and Sage Northcutt, all tomato cans, he has gone 3-7 since. How he gets this fight is beyond me.
Lucia Szabova vs. Tainara Lisboa
Pick – Lucia Szabova
Reason – Lucia Szabova comes in at 10-0 and looks to earn his first UFC win this weekend. She holds the heigh, reach and age advantage over Lisboa who is just 7-4 in her MMA career.
