UFC Fight Night Preview: Vicente Luque vs. Rafael Dos Anjos Clash In Crucial Welterweight Matchup

Vicente Luque Vs. Rafael Dos Anjos Preview, Start Times, and Prelims

This Saturday, August 12, 2023, two Brazilian welterweight contenders meet in the octagon at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Former Lightweight champion and #9 Ranked Welterweight, Rafael Dos Anjos will make his first UFC appearance in 2023 after defeating Bryan Barberena last December. He will be facing #10 ranked welterweight, Vicente Luque, who is coming off a long lay-off after a brutal KO defeat against Geoff Neal last August.

Start Times

Main Card: 12:00 PM BST (4:00 PM PT, 7:00 PM ET)

Prelims: 9:00 PM BST (1:00 PM PT, 4:00 PM ET)

Main Card Fight Previews

#9 Rafael Dos Anjos Vs. #10 Vicente Luque – Welterweight 5-round Main Event

As mentioned before, both of these men are coming off pretty significant layoffs, with Rafael Dos Anjos being 8 months out of the octagon and Vicente Luque having a 12-month layoff.

The reason for Luque’s long layoff is due to the brutal fashion in which he was finished in his last fight. The finish resulted in a brain hemorrhage, which is extremely serious, especially in a sport like MMA.

It will be interesting to see how Luque will look in his first fight back, against a legend of the sport no less. This is a crucial fight in the career of both men, with Dos Anjos being 38, this is likely his last potential run to the top of 170 lbs. Luque on the other hand will be trying to avoid falling into a 3-fight losing streak, with his last win being in 2021 against Michael Chiesa.

Cub Swanson Vs. Hakeem Dowodu – Featherweight

Cub Swanson, now aged 39, returns to 145 lbs after a brief stint at 135 lbs, where he was defeated by Jonathan Martinez via KO/TKO. I think returning to 145 is the correct choice, especially at this point in his career. However, Dowodu is no slouch with a UFC record of 6-3 who loves to strike on the feet. Should be a fun one, as most Cub Swanson fights are.

#13 Khalil Roundtree Vs. #14 (HW) Chris Daukas – Light Heavyweight

Chris Daukas will be making his UFC Light Heavyweight debut, after his most recent KO defeat to Jairzinho Rozenstruik last December. He is coming off 3 consecutive KOs which is never a good sign for the chin of any fighter, however, heavyweight was never his true division so the move down should better suit him. However, Khalil Roundtree is one of the harder-hitting 205ers and is on a 3-fight winning streak. It certainly will not be an easy debut in the division for Daukas but would do a lot for his career to come away with a win.

Polyana Viana Vs. Iasim Lucindo – Women’s Flyweight

Polyana Viana is one of the best finishers in all of Women’s MMA with all of her 13 wins coming by way of KO/TKO or Submission, with 12 of them being in the first round. She will be facing off against Iasim Lucindo who is only 21 and is relatively new to the UFC with a record of 1-1 so far in the promotion. It will be the youth of Lucindo vs. the experience and finishing ability of Viana.

AJ Dobson Vs. Tafon Nchukwi – Middleweight

Dana White Contender Series Alum AJ Dobson will be looking to pick up his first UFC win after starting his tenure 0-2. That will make this a crucial fight for him, so expect him to fight with a sense of urgency. Nchukwi, another DWCS alum, will also be looking to avoid a 3-fight losing skid. Do or die fight for both men.

Josh Fremd Vs. Jamie Pickett – Middleweight

Fremd is coming off a win against Sedriques Dumas earlier this year and is looking to add a second UFC win to his resume. Pickett on the other hand, is coming in with a 3-fight losing streak, with the most recent coming against Middleweight Prospect Bo Nickal. Realistically, Pickett will likely be fighting to stay in the UFC.

Prelim Fights

JP Buys Vs. Marcus McGhee – Bantamweight

Terrance McKinney Vs. Mike Breeden – Lightweight

Francis Marshal Vs. Isaac Dulgarian – Featherweight

Josh Parisian Vs. Martin Buday – Heavyweight

Jaqueline Amorim Vs. Montserrat Conejo – Women’s Strawweight

Da’mon Blackshear Vs. Jose Johnson – Bantamweight

Juliana Miller Vs. Luana Santos – Women’s Flyweight

By: Max Rhoades

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