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After putting on one of the greatest MMA card’s in the history of the sport this past Saturday at UFC 290, the world’s premiere fight league will attempt to cover the entire quality spectrum by returning to the the dull and drab APEX facility this Saturday (July 15th) for one of the worst booked events (on paper) in recent memory. The good news is that going into an event like this with such low expectations, can easily result in a feeling of over-production. With that being said, let’s dig around and see what sort of meat can be found on this bone.
At 41-years-of-age, the UFC’s former bantamweight champion Holly Holm will be headlining this card with the promotion’s #10 ranked 135-pounder, Mayra Bueno Silva. Holm is a veteran that has been a class act forever, and should be revered as one of the greats in women’s MMA. Does that mean she is fun to watch? No.
Since 2015, Holly has competed in 14 UFC fights, and only four of them ended in exciting fashion. She kicked Ronda Rousey and Bethe Correia in the head, and then got strangled by Miesha Tate and head kicked by Amanda Nunes. Outside of that, though, the bulk of Holly’s matches have been riddled with underwhelming decisions full of empty volume, tons of kiais, and plenty stale clinching exchanges.
Not to be a total Debbie Downer, the bright side here is that Holm’s dance partner has plenty of finishes to her credit. Bueno Silva won a UFC contract on the strength of a Ninja Choke on Dana White’s Contender Series, and from there she finished four of her five promotional wins by way of submission. That includes a wicked kneebar of Lina Länsberg in her last outing. This doesn’t mean that she is going to go out there and sub Holly, who is actually a high-level grappler in her own right, but it does create a glimmer of hope for some potential excitement.
This UFC fight night co-main of this card will include a matchup between some unranked middleweights when the 16-4 Albert Duraev tangles with 16-5 Jun Yong Park. Before that, longtime UFC heavyweight Walt Harris will attempt to get back on track by facing Contender Series alumnus, Josh Parisian. Harris vs. Parisian has been scrapped due to a USADA issue. As for the rest of the card, you’ll find a few fun action fighters like Ottman Azaitar, Terrance McKinney, and Tyson Nam, but there’s also a bunch of names on deck that have yet to earn a UFC victory.
Start time and date
UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Bueno Silva takes place on July 15th at the APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event starts at 10 p.m. ET. The prelims begin at 7 p.m. ET.
How to watch
UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Bueno Silva is available on ESPN+ for current subscribers, and can also be seen on ESPN. The event is scheduled to start live at 7:00pm ET, 4:00pm PT. For full streaming details, and compatible devices go here.
Full UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Bueno Silva fight card
Main card
- Holly Holm vs. Mayra Bueno Silva: (W) Bantamweight
- Jack Della Maddalena vs. Bassil Hafez: Welterweight
- Ottman Azaitar vs. Francisco Prado: Lightweight
- Albert Duraev vs. Jun Yong Park: Middleweight
- Norma Dumont vs. Chelsea Chandler: (W) Featherweight
- Terrance McKinney vs. Nazim Sadykhov: Lightweight
Walt Harris vs. Josh Parisian: Heavyweight
Prelims
- Tucker Lutz vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan: Featherweight
- Istela Nunes vs. Viktoriya Dudakova: Strawweight
- Austin Lingo vs. Melquizael Costa: Featherweight
- Genaro Valdez vs. Evan Elder: Lightweight
- Tyson Nam vs. Azat Maksum: Flyweight
- Carl Deaton vs. Alex Munoz: Lightweight
- Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Ailin Perez: (W) Bantamweight
What comes after UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Bueno Silva
The next event after UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Bueno Silva is UFC Fight Night: Aspinall vs. Tybura, and this card will happen on July 22nd across the pond at the O2 Arena in London, England. Headlining the card will be England’s own Tom Aspinall returning to competition following a gruesome knee injury to tangle with the winner of a 7-1 run, Marcin Tybura. The co-main event for this card will include another hometown fighter in Molly McCann, mixing things up with Julija Stoliarenko.
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