UFC Vancouver’s Must-See Undercard Saturday Night in BC

Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC serves as the setting for Saturday night’s card. If you’re watching from the United States of America, UFC Vancouver will be streamed via ESPN+ beginning with the prelims on Saturday afternoon at 4 pm ET/ 1 pm PT.

Main card action follows at 7 pm ET/ 4 pm PT. If there are no adjustments to be made to the schedule between now and the weekend, the final version of UFC Vancouver will feature a slate of 13 MMA fights.

UFC Vancouver Featured Prelim: Charles Jourdain vs. Davey Grant

At the top of the bill for the prelims, the bantamweights take to the cage for a contest matching Charles Jourdain (16-8-1 MMA, 7-7-1 UFC) with Davey Grant (15-7 MMA, 8-6 UFC.) All fights mentioned herein are an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.

The UFC Vancouver featured prelim is the second “home game” for the Charles Jourdain camp in as many fights. He’s posted a record of 3-2 in his last five fights.

Last Nov. 2, he trekked to Edmonton, AL for a bout versus Victor Henry (25-7, 1 NC MMA, 4-2, 1 NC UFC), winning by way of second-round submission. In so doing, Jourdain pocketed a $50,000 (USD) cash advance for the Performance of the Night Award.

It’s been a while since he fought, however. A planned June 14 fight in Atlanta against Ricky Simon was scrubbed ahead of fight night after Jourdain sustained an eye injury.

Now, with a clean bill of health afforded to him, will he secure his second straight win in his home country? Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, Davey Grant comes into UFC Vancouver having gone 4-1 in his last five fights. Currently, he’s on a two-fight winning streak, extended last time out with a unanimous decision victory over Da’Mon Blackshear (17-8-1 MMA, 5-4-1 UFC) after three rounds of action in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

He’s playing the role of the villain on Saturday night and he’ll do so while on a winning streak. Will Davey Grant go back to England having won three fights in succession?

UFC Vancouver Co-Featured Prelim: No. 14 Contender Bruno Silva vs. HyunSung Park

Immediately prior to the featured undercard bout of UFC Vancouver, the co-featured prelim takes place at flyweight. No. 14 contender Bruno Silva (14-7-2, 1 NC MMA, 4-4-1, 1 NC UFC) fights to stay in the top-15 at 125 when he meets HyunSung Park (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC.)

Silva will be making the walk with a mark of 3-2 in his last five fights. He’s been a streaky fighter of late, having dropped two contests in a row. On June 7, he came out on the wrong end of a third-round knockout from Joshua Van (15-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in a rescheduled fight after their originally-booked bout in March was postponed.

With a spot in the rankings at risk, Silva’s in need of a win in UFC Vancouver.  His opponent has shown himself to be no slouch once the cage door shuts.

Across the way, HyunSung Park comes into the weekend sporting a 4-1 record in his last five appearances. This past August, he went into the loss column for the first time in his UFC tenure by way of second-round submission due to a face crank to Tatsuro Taira (17-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC.)

Just as a fighter can be dangerous when he’s on a hot streak, he can be equally dangerous when he’s coming off of a defeat. How will Park fare this time?

UFC Vancouver: Danny Barlow vs. Djorden Santos

Also on the UFC Vancouver undercard, the middleweights go to battle as Danny Barlow (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) collides with Djorden Santos (10-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC.) Barlow, a 2023 graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series, has posted a 4-1 record in his last five walks to the fabled Octagon dating back to July of 2023.

On March 1, he tasted defeat for the first time under the UFC banner, coming away a loser versus Sam Patterson (14-2-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) by way of first-round knockout. This is Barlow’s fourth appearance in Dana White’s promotion.

How does Barlow respond to his first UFC defeat?

In the other corner, Djorden Santos will be making his sophomore appearance in the organization, owning a record of 4-1 over the past five contests. Back on March 8, his UFC debut ended on a sour note, dropping a unanimous decision to Ozzy Diaz (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC.)

While Santos’ UFC tenure is in his early days, he can’t afford to get behind the 8-ball so soon after he joins the active roster. Is a UFC win in fight number two in the cards?

Rest of the Prelims

The UFC Vancouver prelims are rounded out by the following fights:

• A lightweight contest matching Kyle Prepolec (18-9 MMA, 0-3 UFC) with Drew Dober (27-15, 1 NC MMA, 13-11, 1 NC UFC),
• a strawweight fight pairing Stephanie Luciano (6-2-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) against Ravena Oliveira (7-2-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC),
• a middleweight bout between Azamat Bekoev (20-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and Yousri Belgaroui (8-3 MMA, UFC promotional debut) in a rebooking of a postponed fight from August,
• and a women’s bantamweight affair versing Melissa Croden (6-2 MMA, UFC promotional debut) and Tainara Lisboa (7-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC.)

Which prelim or prelims are you looking forward to in UFC Vancouver?