UFC Vegas 106’s Awesome Main Card Bouts Saturday Night at Apex

This headlining affair is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close out the show. Gilbert Burns enters the UFC Vegas 106 main event on Saturday night with a record of 2-3 in his last five bouts. He’s on a three-fight losing streak, however.

Last time out, Burns dropped a unanimous decision defeat to Sean Brady (18-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) at the same UFC Apex facility on Sept. 7 of last year. He recently mentioned the rationale behind taking the fight this weekend.

“I was like Michael Morales years ago,” Burns said in an interview. “I was making noise, making my way to the top and Demian Maia [and] Gunnar Nelson gave me that opportunity. I feel like I have to do the same. It’s a test. If I go and win, I knock him off and he can have another opportunity in the future, but he needs an opportunity and who am I to say no?”

Will the opportunity Gilbert Burns gives Michael Morales result in the start of a new winning streak? Tune in Saturday and find out.

Meanwhile, Michael Morales touches down in Nevada this weekend for UFC Vegas 106 having yet to lose as a professional in the sport of MMA. Last August, he bested Neil Magny (29-13 MMA, 22-12 UFC) by way of first-round knockout due to ground and pound strikes during UFC Vegas 96 at the Apex facility.

He’s been on a tear ever since turning pro and a win in the UFC Vegas 106 main event will almost assuredly give him a place inside the top-10 at 170 lbs as early as this coming Monday morning. Only time will tell if his record will move to 18-0 this weekend.

UFC Vegas 106 Co-Main Event: Rodolfo Bellato vs. Paul Craig

Immediately beforehand, the co-main event of the evening happens at light heavyweight. Rodolfo Bellato (12-2-1 MMA, 1-0-1 UFC) squares off against Paul Craig (17-9-1, 9-9-1 UFC). This fight is a three-round affair at five minutes each.

Bellato comes into the weekend with a 4-0-1 record in his last five fights. Back in February, he saw his fight versus Jimmy Crute (12-4-2 MMA, 4-4-2 UFC) end in a majority draw after 15 minutes of action.

During Wednesday’s media availability, Bellato mentioned that he’s eager to return.

“I learned a lot from that fight, actually,” Rodolfo Bellato told the press, through his translator, “a lot of mistakes, a lot of things that I could look back at. Since I didn’t fight last year, I want to remain active, so I wanted to get back in here as [quickly] as possible, for sure.”

With just over three months in-between fights, will Rodolfo Bellato’s quick turnaround in UFC Vegas 106 spell a victory or the end of a five-match unbeaten streak?

Across the way, Paul Craig has posted a mark of 1-4 in his last five MMA appearances. At the moment, he’s dropped three fights in a row.

Last November, from Madison Square Garden in New York City, he dropped a unanimous decision loss at the hands of Bo Nickal (7-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) during UFC 309. Craig is reeling going into UFC Vegas 106. To find the last time that he had a sustained unbeaten streak in MMA, you’d need to travel back in time to September of 2019 through March of 2022. During that window, he went 5-0-1 in six bouts.

Can Craig get off the skid at UFC Vegas 106?

UFC Vegas 106: Sodiq Yusuff vs. Mairon Santos

Also on the UFC Vegas 106 main card this coming weekend, you’ll be treated to a lightweight affair pitting Sodiq Yusuff (13-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) against Mairon Santos (15-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC.) Yusuff will be making the walk to the famous Octagon this Saturday having posted a record of 2-3 in his last five appearances.

Currently, he’s on a two-fight skid in the aftermath of a two-fight winning streak. In April of last year, he was on the receiving end of a first-round knockout from Diego Lopes (26-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) during the landmark UFC 300 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Yusuff has been out of action for more than a full year’s time. How much ring rust does he have going into this contest?

In the other corner, Mairon Santos comes in on short-notice, having only been scheduled to fight Yusuff last month. He’s gone 4-1 in his last five professional bouts. This past March, by way of split decision, Santos emerged victorious over Francis Marshall (8-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in a featherweight contest

Saturday’s fight happens at 155 because Santos accepted the fight on short-notice and he revealed during the media session this week that he needed to drop 40 lbs just to get to the featherweight limit, something that could prompt a more permanent move to lightweight.

“If I can’t be close to featherweight, I might move up [to the lightweight division]”, he said to the media Wednesday. “I want to be active. That’s my job, so I want to work, but after the fight, we’ll know better.”

A switch to the 155-lb division on a regular basis remains to be seen. How will Santos fare at lightweight this week?

Final Thoughts

Which main card fight or fights are you looking forward to for UFC Vegas 106?