Rafa Garcia looks to break out of a two-fight slide on Saturday as he welcomes Contender Series graduate Natan Levy to the Octagon for the first time.
Arriving in the UFC with a perfect 12-0 mark, Garcia has dropped back-to-back decisions to Nasrat Haqparast and Chris Gruetzemacher ahead of this one. The 27-year-old faced and beat solid competition to land his chance to compete on the biggest stage in the sport, and he needs to get back to that form this weekend if he hopes to avoid a three-fight slide.
Levy punched his ticket to the UFC with a third-round submission win last November on the Contender Series, moving to 6-0 in the process. The 30-year-old Israeli has a well-rounded game and exciting style, but he’s faced limited competition to this point, so it will be interesting to see how he handles himself sharing the cage with someone as experienced as Garcia on Saturday night.
There are no layups in the lightweight division and the dynamics of this matchup are intriguing, as Garcia needs a victory in a bad way, while Levy is looking to remain unbeaten and make a splash in his debut. Only one of those things will come to pass, and it should be fun to find out which one it will be this weekend.
TERRANCE MCKINNEY VS. FARES ZIAM
Young, talented lightweights meet in this outstanding preliminary card pairing as Terrance McKinney makes his long-awaited sophomore appearance inside the Octagon against the promising French fighter Fares Ziam.
McKinney delivered arguably the best debut of 2021 in June, rolling into UFC 263 on four days’ notice and registering a seven-second knockout win over Matt Frevola, dropping the veteran with a crisp one-two right out of the chute. The Spokane native has already earned four first-round wins this year and looks to add to that total with another dynamic performance in his sophomore appearance on Saturday.
After dropping his short-notice debut at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi, the 24-year-old Ziam has collected consecutive decision wins, out-hustling Jamie Mullarkey before surviving a late charge from Luigi Vendramini at UFC 263 in June. Tall and rangy for the lightweight division, “Smile Killer” has won seven of his last eight and has fought some experienced foes, which makes him an interesting dance partner for McKinney this weekend.
Will “T. Wrecks” get his fifth win of 2021 or will Ziam secure a third straight victory?
CODY DURDEN VS. AORIQILENG
It’s a battle of flyweights hoping to secure their first UFC victories as Cody Durden takes on Aoriqileng in what should be an action-packed preliminary card pairing.
Durden debuted by fighting Chris Gutierrez to a draw up at bantamweight in the summer of 2020, but quickly lost his return to flyweight, getting caught in a flying triangle choke by Jimmy Flick. The 30-year-old American Top Team Atlanta representative had won seven straight prior to arriving in the UFC, and will look to recapture that form — and capture his first UFC win — when he steps in for the third time this weekend.
Debuting opposite Jeff Molina at UFC 261 in April, Aoriqileng ran level with “El Jefe” through the first two rounds, only for the Glory MMA & Fitness standout to pull away in the third. The 28-year-old “Mongolian Murderer” had won six straight before that setback and has an 18-8 record overall, making him an intriguing, experienced addition to the 125-pound ranks.
This one has the potential to set the tone for the evening, as Durden showed his willingness to scrap it out against Gutierrez, and Aoriqileng was clearly game to do the same against Molina, so don’t be surprised if these two get after it early on Saturday.
SHAYILAN NUERDANBIEKE VS. SEAN SORIANO
Shayilan Nuerdanbieke looks to rebound from a loss in his promotional debut, while Sean Soriano seeks a victory in the second appearance of his second tour of duty with the UFC as the two face off in the featherweight opener this weekend.
Nuerdanbieke dropped a unanimous decision to Australian Joshua Culibao in his May debut, snapping a tidy two-fight winning streak. The 27-year-old has already logged 26 professional appearances and looks to follow in the footsteps of his former opponent Rongzhu in having a much more impressive showing the second time he steps into the Octagon.
Things started well for Soriano in his short notice return in May, as he had Cristos Giagos hurt in the first round, only for “The Spartan” to weather the storm and secure the finish in the second. Moving back down to his natural weight class, the Sanford MMA staple looks to tap into the skills that delivered victories over Saul Almeida, Jose Mariscal, and Noah Lahat ahead of his return.
