One of two fighters from the middleweight competition on Season 11 remaining on the active roster, McGee has had mixed results since relocating to welterweight. While he’s continued to be an indefatigable grinder who draws the best out of his competition, “The Crusher” is 6-7 in the welterweight ranks after snapping a three-fight skid last time out with a gritty decision win over Claudio Silva.
After an injury-induced loss to Max Griffin, Brahimaj got stitched up, recovered, and returned to his winning ways in August, securing a first-round submission win over Sasha Palatnikov. A member of the United States Army for eight years, Brahimaj is now one of a number of intriguing emerging competitors representing the Dallas MMA outpost helmed by “The General” Sayif Saud.
GABRIEL BENITEZ VS TJ BROWN
Gabriel Benitez looks to get back into the win column following a Fight of the Night-winning scrap in his only appearance last year, while TJ Brown aims to keep things trending in the right direction in this featherweight clash.
A fixture in the 145-pound weight class for the past seven years, the 33-year-old Benitez has struggled to find consistent success over the last couple of years, entering Saturday’s event with just one victory in his last four appearances. He scored an impressive stoppage win over Justin Jaynes towards the end of 2020 but missed weight for his first assignment of last year before getting stopped by Billy Quarantillo in the third-round of their competitive battle in July.
Brown graduated from the third season of Dana White’s Contender Series, earning his contract with a third-round submission finish that pushed his winning streak to four. He dropped each of his first two UFC assignments, but finally cracked the win column with a debated split decision triumph over Kai Kamaka in May.
DAKOTA BUSH VS VIACHESLAV BORSHCHEV
Elite camps are represented on both sides of this lightweight battle as Dakota Bush takes on Viacheslav Borshcev.
Fighting out of Glory MMA & Fitness, Bush debuted on short notice in April, landing on the wrong side of the results against Austin Hubbard. He’d won four of five ahead of that one, and after being forced out of a September assignment, the 27-year-old is likely chomping at the bit to get back in there and potentially chase down his first UFC win.
