UFC Vegas 12 - Full Card Breakdown & Predictions
When is UFC Vegas 12? Saturday 31st October, 2020 - 21:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Vegas 12? UFC APEX, Las Vegas, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC Vegas 12? No tickets are available as this event will take place without spectators
What channel is UFC Vegas 12 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC Vegas 12? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
URIAH HALL VS ANDERSON SILVA
The talented yet inconsistent Uriah Hall (15-9) steps out for the first time in over a year to headline UFC Vegas 12 with one of the greatest fighters to ever grace the sport. After three losses in a row to middleweight monsters, Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson and Gegard Mousasi, in typical Hall fashion he followed that up with a ‘performance of the night’ and knockout over Krzysztof Jotko. He then ran into another monster getting clobbered by Paulo Costa but now he is on a two-fight win streak after sparking Bevon Lewis and earning a split decision over jiu-jitsu ace Antonio Carlos Junior.
It is cruel that there will not be any fans to appreciate the swansong of the legend and most dominant middleweight champion in the UFC’s history. Anderson Silva (34-10(1)) is understandably a shadow of his former elite-self with just one win in his last eight fights. He has not been the same since the complacent knockout followed by the leg break against Chris Weidman, but he managed to pick up a win five years later against Derek Brunson earning a unanimous but close decision. It then seemed the UFC wanted him to retire by handing him Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier who injured his leg again back in May last year.
PREDICTION
Who knows what kind of performance these guys will churn out. Hall is one of the most inconsistent fighters on the roster and although Silva is past his prime, he has said this will be his last fight and he will put absolutely everything into finishing his career with a win.
Silva is 45 years old now, he has lost speed and power, but that muscle memory is still there, and his reactions held up in his fights with Adesanya and Cannonier. However, that leg kick he absorbed by Cannonier must play on his mind and do not be surprised if Hall targets it himself.
Hall also seems more confident training at Fortis MMA and if he turns up anywhere near his best, he should walk through Silva. He has proven knockout power in all limbs but would do well to land clean on Silva’s chin considering his defence and head movement.
Even at the end of his career, Silva has the striking technique to pull off a knockout or outland his way to a decision, but Hall is expected to ruin the Brazilian’s farewell.
Prediction: Hall via Decision
ANDRE FILI VS BRYCE MITCHELL
Andre Fili (21-7) is coming off that great fight with Charles Jourdain edging out the Canadian with a split decision win back in June. This came in response to losing the third decision of his career which came against Sodiq Yusuff at the start of the year and now the Hawaiian walks out for the third time in 2020 hoping to string two wins together.
Bryce Mitchell (13-0) heads to the APEX protecting his unbeaten record. The fan-favourite is a charismatic and exciting fighter and is improving with each performance. We first saw him on The Ultimate Fighter, and he followed up that incredible twister on Matt Sayles with a unanimous decision over Charles Rosa back in May.
PREDICTION
This is a great match-up on paper. Fili is a great striker with decent wrestling and Mitchell is a jiu-jitsu wizard with improving striking and coming off a dominant performance.
Mitchell is the favourite, but Fili has all the experience and if he can keep the the fight on the feet he can easily pull off the upset. If the fight goes to the floor however, you have to back Mitchell all day so this depends on what Mitchell’s game plan is.
Mitchell timed his takedowns superbly against Rosa and you can expect him to emulate that. Fili is confident in his ground skills but has got to try and keep Mitchell at range using his reach advantage. However, expect Mitchell to land the takedowns as Fili throws kicks and when he grabs a hold of him, he will aggressively pursue the submission.
Fili is good enough to defend some takedowns and submission attempts but will do well to defend for three rounds.
Prediction: Mitchell via Decision
MAURICE GREENE VS GREG HARDY
Maurice Greene (9-4) is fresh off his emotional win over Gian Villante, finishing him with a arm-triangle in the third round. He looked good, especially after getting finished twice himself (Sergei Pavlovich via knockout and Alexey Oleynik via submission) but Villante moved up a division and has not looked UFC calibre for a while.
He takes on Greg hardy who is looking more competent with every fight. His raw talent and athleticism is well-known but he continues to add more strings to his MMA bow. After two quick finishes and a decision over Ben Sosoli (later overturned for using his inhaler), he stepped up on short notice to take on Alexander Volkov. He inevitably lost but took the Russian to a decision. He followed up that performance with a unanimous decision over Yorgan De Castro back in May.
PREDICTION
Greene is training at Jackson-Wink now which is a great move and he should have a decent strategy lined up. He can hurt Hardy from range and will have a submission threat on the ground.
However, although Hardy is less experienced, his speed, power and explosiveness should swing this firmly in his favour. We have not seen enough from Greene to outline a clear route to victory and we can only assume Hardy will enter the cage an even better fighter.
Another decision is likely but if he is more aggressive, he could easily put Greene to sleep.
Prediction: Hardy via KO/TKO
BOBBY GREEN VS THIAGO MOISES
Bobby Green (27-10-1) struggled for consistency in the UFC and almost hung up his gloves recently but after his unanimous decision losses to Drakkar Klose and Francisco Trinaldo, Green has been enjoying a resurgence in his career and has looked as slick as ever. He has won three unanimous decisions in a row cruising past Clay Guida, earning a ‘fight of the night’ with Lando Vannata in their rematch and is coming off a dominant performance over Alan Patrick.
Thiago Moises (13-4) is the next Brazilian lined up for Green and he is coming off a great finish over Michael Johnson. Moises had enough of getting out struck so as soon as the bell went for the second round, he jumped on an achilles lock securing the submission. That win made it 2-2 in his last four but those losses came against beasts in the shape of Beneil Dariush and Damir Ismagulov.
PREDICTION
Green’s boxing has always been quality and his experience combined with confidence puts him on another level at the moment. Considering how comfortable Johnson looked on the feet in the first round with Moises, Green knows if he keeps the fight on the feet, it will be easy pickings.
Moises will be aware of this as well and although he will have the confidence to stand and trade, he knows that if he sticks to his strengths and gets the fight the ground, it will be easy pickings for him too.
Green has a takedown defence of 74% and Moises has an accuracy of just 28%. However, his jiu-jitsu is so good that he only needs to get Green down to the mat once.
So, this really depends on what game plan Moises has and if he comes out like he did for the second round of his fight with Johnson, Green could be in a world of trouble and the longer he stands the more punishment he will take.
With the confidence and momentum behind Green right now, expect him dominate the rounds with his takedown defence being the key factor.
Prediction: Green via Decision
CHRIS GRUETZEMACHER VS ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ
After getting his 12-fight winning streak snapped by Chas Skelly in 2017, Chris Gruetzemacher (14-3) suffered another loss getting submitted again by Davi Ramos. He returned the following year bouncing back in style with a ‘performance of the night’ and TKO finish over veteran Joe Lauzon. However, that was the last time we saw him as he has been recovering for a nasty ACL injury.
Alexander Hernandez (11-3) burst on to the UFC scene with a knockout over Beneil Dariush and a decision over Olivier Aubin-Mercier but was memorably humbled by Donald Cerrone and he is still trying to get that form back. He responded with a huge win and unanimous decision over Francisco Trinaldo but went on to get outclassed by a surging Drew Dober who knocked him out in the second round.
PREDICTION
Dober exposed some holes in Hernandez’ stand-up game but this is a kinder match-up for him fighting Gruetzemacher who has not had a win since 2015. He is also a striker by trade but Hernandez has the wrestling to smother Gruetzemacher and beat him up on the deck.
Hernandez has also started training at Factory X which is a good move and once he gets comfortable expect to see his speed and explosiveness overwhelm Gruetzemacher and set up takedowns with strikes.
Prediction: Hernandez via Submission
ADRIAN YANEZ VS VICTOR RODRIGUEZ
Fresh off his win on Dana White’s Contender Series, Adrian Yanez (11-3) heads to the APEX to make his UFC debut. He was originally scheduled to fight Aaron Phillips, but he had to pull out due to injury. Yanez is hoping to keep his streak going after knocking out Brady Huang to make it four on the bounce since losing a split decision to Miles Johns back in November 2018 who is also on the card.
He takes on another UFC debutant who is also on a four-fight win streak. Victor Rodriguez (7-2) had a couple setbacks in 2014 getting knocked out and submitted but now he is on a roll, a violent roll. He is coming off four straight knockouts including a second-round finish over Jared Mazurek for the Alaska Fighting Championship.
PREDICTION
Rodriguez is a dangerous man, but he is unproven against decent competition. He has not fought anyone of note whereas Yanez has fought higher calibre opponents for the Legacy Fighting Alliance. He does not have a wealth of experience, but it is in a different league to Rodriguez. As long as Yanez can avoid the power of Rodriguez, he should get the job done with a potential finish.
Prediction: Yanez via KO/TKO
SEAN STRICKLAND VS JACK MARSHMAN
We have not seen Sean Strickland (20-3) for two years since his TKO win over Nordine Taleb. A couple months after that fantastic win, Strickland got hit by a car while on his motorcycle which has put him on the sidelines with multiple injuries and even needed knee surgery. Thankfully he is healthy and restarts his UFC quest at up a division at middleweight.
Jack Marshman (23-9) welcomes Strickland back to the cage and he has found wins hard to come by in the talent-rich division. He is 4-3 in the UFC with wins over Magnus Cedenblad, Ryan Janes and John Phillips and his losses were to Thiago Santos, Antonio Carlos Junior, Karl Roberson and most recently Edmen Shahbazyan. All absolute monsters so it would be good to see Marshman tested against lower ranked fighters.
PREDICTION
This is a good match-up for both men. Marshman gets a break from in form killers and Strickland makes his comeback against a tested veteran who will only want to strike.
We know what to expect from Marshman and that is technically sound boxing with knockout power, durability, decent jiu-jitsu but large holes in his wrestling.
Excitingly, Strickland has wrestling in the locker but also prefers to stand and bang so this should be an exciting battle. He moves up from welterweight and his been out for a long time, but we expect him to make a successful return.
Prediction: Strickland via Decision
COLE WILLIAMS VS JASON WITT
Cole Williams (11-2) heads to the APEX looking to bounce back from his UFC debut loss to Claudio Silva. Williams suffered the fate of many getting submitted by the Brazilian and that loss snapped his impressive nine-fight win streak which included four submissions and three knockouts.
Jason Witt (17-6) is also coming off a UFC debut loss. He met Takashi Sato in June suffering a rude awakening and first-round knockout but he did take the fight on short notice. This snapped Witt’s four-fight winning streak which included a submission and three unanimous decisions.
PREDICTION
Both men had tough debuts, but this fight should prove if they are UFC calibre. They have impressive records but have not fought very strong competition. Williams is very durable and has a strong right hand. However, so does Witt who also has a more diverse arsenal of strikes as well as solid grappling to call upon. He also trains at James Krause’s Glory MMA and Fitness and will be a lot better prepared for this fight than his last.
Prediction: Witt via Decision
CORTNEY CASEY VS PRISCILA CACHOERIA
Cortney Casey’s unflattering (9-8) record is a familiar sight when fighters start their career in the UFC, learning to swim in the fiercely competitive waters of the female strawweight and flyweight divisions. She has fought top fighters inevitably losing but she has good wins over the likes of Randa Markos and Angela Hill. She also picked up the fourth submission of her career against Mara Romero Borella back in May but then met Gillian Robertson who gave her a taste of her own medicine.
Priscila Cachoeira (9-3) experienced that step-up in competition arriving to the UFC with an unbeaten 8-0 record. She could not of had a bigger baptism of fire stepping up to fight Valentina Shevchenko who is one of the most skilled fighters in MMA. She got marbleized and then lost her next two fights to Molly McCann and Luana Carolina Carolina via unanimous decision. However, she prevented more damage to her record with an exceptional performance and first-round knockout over Shana Dobson back in February.
PREDICTION
This should be a good scrap. They match-up similarly physically and should bring a fast pace to the octagon. Casey is the favourite here with a more rounded skill set. She is a good striker but that is Cachoeira’s strength so it will be interesting to see what her strategy is.
The Brazilian will obviously hope the fight stays o the feet so if Casey can mix up her strikes with takedowns and clinches she can take the fight away from the Brazilian. If the fight goes to the floor a submission for Casey is also possible but this will most likely end in a decision.
Prediction: Casey via Decision
DUSTIN JACOBY VS JUSTIN LEDET
Dustin Jacoby (12-5) embarks on his second stint in the UFC after his unanimous decision win over Ty Flores on Dana White’s Contender Series. We first saw the former Glory kickboxing competitor in the UFC all the way back in 2011 where he lost a decision to Clifford Starks and after another loss to Chris Camozzi he left the organisation to grow his record. He was 6-2 then and now hoping for a more successful run in the UFC.
Justin Ledet (9-3 (1)) has had mixed fortunes in the UFC winning his first three fights but is now on a three-fight skid. He won a unanimous decision over Chase Sherman on his debut and then submitted Mark Godbeer before earning a split decision over Zu Anyanwu. His skid started with a unanimous decision to Aleksandar Rakic, then ate a brutal spinning back fist from Johnny Walker and is coming off another unanimous decision against Aleksa Camur.
PREDICTION
Ledet seems to have become a gatekeeper in the division and the UFC have given Jacoby a good match-up for his return. Ledet is a big rangy striker who will back himself to stand and trade which is exactly what Jacoby wants.
Ledet is better off getting the fight to the ground but if he tests his ego by standing with the kickboxer, he may just end up waking to a doctor’s flashlight.
Prediction: Jacoby via KO/TKO
MILES JOHNS VS KEVIN NATIVIDAD
Miles Johns (10-1) makes his third UFC appearance coming off the first loss of his career. After stringing together seven wins over the course of over six years, Johns topped up his record with a unanimous decision over Richie Santiago on Dana White’s Contender Series and then successfully marked his UFC debut with a split decision over Cole Williams. However, he tasted defeat and Mario Bautista’s knee suffering his first loss in his last outing.
Like Johns, Kevin Natividad (9-1) made a name for himself racking up wins for the Legacy Fighting Alliance. He lost his LFA debut to Glen Baker getting knocked out, but he has since compiled five impressive wins including three knockouts to earn the call-up to the UFC.
PREDICTION
These guys match up very similarly. They have similar records, are a similar age, similar well-rounded skill sets and similar physically with just Natividad boasting a four-inch reach advantage and we can expect a fiercely competitive contest.
We can expect a fast-paced, technical scrap with a mixture of striking and grappling. If Johns starts to win the exchanges we could see Natividad resort to his wrestling to get to the fight to the floor but Johns will be comfortable everywhere and the extra power in his hands could make the difference in earning a close decision.