UFC Vegas 114 might be your typical APEX event, but it’s hiding some serious names. Fans should be on the lookout for some promising prospects on the undercard, ranging from heavyweight all the way to women’s bantamweight — two divisions absolutely starving for talent.
6’5″ UFC heavyweight Steven Asplund is on a warpath
Minnesota’s Asplund tops the prelims opposite Vitor Petrino. ‘Concrete’ is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise waning heavyweight division; a giant, gritty boxer with a deceptively good gas tank. Fans have dubbed him ‘heavyweight Holloway.’
Counting his DWCS demolition job, Asplund has two knockouts under the UFC banner, and he rides a four-fight knockout streak, with 75-percent of his wins coming by KO/TKO. He fights Petrino, an athletic heavyweight who moved up from the 205-lb division to the tune of two emphatic finishes.
Could this be the fight to break the slew of awful heavyweight contests?
UFC bantamweights with something to prove
‘Swift’ Elijah Smith scored one of the most violent wins in MMA history last August, slamming his opponent from the stratosphere for a Rampage Jackson-style knockout.
Smith will be looking to maintain his momentum against grappling specialist Su Young You. ‘Yoo Jitsu’ is riding three-straight decision wins in the Octagon, and it looks like the UFC is sending a lamb to the slaughter against Smith. Let’s see if he can pull off the upset.
Bantamweight phenom looked unstoppable in her UFC debut
Standing at 5’2″, Bea Mesquita is a ball of muscle. Her 6-0 record might not seem like much, but don’t let it deceive you. ‘The Lady Goat’ is in the IBJJF Hall of Fame and enters the UFC as one of the most decorated professional grapplers of all time.
Mesquita is the record holder for gold medals at IBJJF at a black belt level, and is absolutely the one to watch if you’re on the lookout for potential future women’s UFC champions.
She’ll get a considerable step up in competition in her second UFC fight against 7-1 Montserrat Rendon, a fringe contender who stands six inches taller.
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