UFC Fight Night: Reyes vs. Procházka Preview

Dominick Reyes and Jiří Procházka will duke it out at the top of the light heavyweight division this Saturday night at UFC Vegas 25. Cub Swanson challenges Giga Chikadze in the co-main event.

The next title challenger may emerge for this main event in the 205-pound division. I feel that Jiří Procházka (27-3-1) is in a much better position to be reward a shot if he was to get the win. Dominick Reyes (12-2) is on a two fight skid having lost to former champ Jon Jones and current champ Jan Błachowicz in his last two fights.

Yes, Procházka will only have two wins inside the octagon if he was to beat Reyes and that normally would not merit a shot at the belt. The Czech fighter held the RIZIN belt before he joined the UFC ranks. On his debut he went toe to toe with heavy hitter Volkan Oezdemir and stopped his counterpart with a devastating head kick followed by a swift 1-2, ending the fight in round in the second round.

For me this fight is all about which Dominik Reyes shows up to fight. He looked sensational in defeat when he fought Jon Jones. In his last fight with Błachowicz the former title challenger looked flat. The sharp, accurate stiker that we seen vs. Jones was nowhere to be seen. Reyes can not afford to fight like that this time around or he will be finished by Procházka.

Jiří Procházka is a wild, unorthodox striker and he throws shots from all kinds of angles. That is very hard to emulate in training if you are Reyes. Both of these fighters have the ability to end this fight with one punch. Reyes will need to be smart inside the cage, he can not engage in a wild brawl with Jiří. Smart game plan from Reyes is to fight from distance as I do feel he has the skills to pick apart his opponent from the outside. I find this fight really hard to call but there is a fair chance we don’t see the final bell on Saturday night. Really intriguing main event.

Cub Swanson (27-11) steps in for his nineteenth UFC tilt when he takes on Georgian striking sensation Giga Chikadze (12-2) in the co-main event. Chikadze is undefeated so far in his UFC career having won all of his five fights so far. Ion Cutelaba (15-6) looks to bounce back in the light heavyweight division after his double set of defeats by the hand of Magomed Ankalaev. The Moldovan faces off against Dustin Jacoby (14-5) who is a DWCS alumni and currently stands at 2-0 so far in his UFC tenure.

Sean Strickland (22-3) and Krzysztof Jotko (22-4) are marked down to compete in the middleweight division. Strickland has looked great since coming back from his injury layoff and Jotko is undefeated in his last three bouts, this should be a really fun fight. Merab Dvalishvili (12-4) and Cody Stamann (19-3-1) look to make a big splash in the bantamweight division. A win for either fighter would set up a fight with a top ten opponent so there is much to fight for in this scrap. Poliana Botelho (8-3) and Luana Carolina (6-2) will open up the main card in the women’s strawweight division.

More women’s strawweight action will headline the preliminary card when Randa Markos (10-10-1) squares off against Luana Pinheiro (8-1). Gabriel Benítez (22-8) locks horns with Jonathan Pearce (10-4) in the featherweight division. There will be lots on the line for Kai Kamaka III (8-3) and T.J. Brown (14-8) in the 145-pound division with both fighter losing in their last encounters.

Loma Lookboonmee (5-2) has had a up and down start to her UFC career. The Thai fighter looks to win two in a row when she challenges Sam Hughes (5-2) in the women’s strawweight division. Hughes is searching for her first win under the UFC banner having lost to Tecia Torres on her debut. Canadian middleweight KB Bhullar (8-1) and his Greek opponent Andreas Michailidis (12-4) are both also in search of their first UFC win. Michailidis previously has fought in the LHW division, he make the move down to 185 pounds. Luke Sanders (13-4) and Felipe Colares (9-2) are also set to throw down in the featherweight division.

Main Card (BT Sports / ESPN+,10pm ET)

Light Heavyweight: Dominick Reyes vs. Jiří Procházka
Featherweight: Cub Swanson vs. Giga Chikadze
Light Heavyweight: Ion Cuțelaba vs. Dustin Jacoby
Middleweight: Sean Strickland vs. Krzysztof Jotko
Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cody Stamann
Women’s Flyweight: Poliana Botelho vs. Luana Carolina

Preliminary Card (BT Sports / ESPN+, 7pm ET)

Women’s Strawweight: Randa Markos vs. Luana Pinheiro
Featherweight: Gabriel Benítez vs. Jonathan Pearce
Featherweight: Kai Kamaka III vs. T.J. Brown
Women’s Strawweight: Loma Lookboonmee vs. Sam Hughes
Featherweight: Luke Sanders vs. Felipe Colares
Middleweight: Andreas Michailidis vs. KB Bhullar