UFC 313 Preview

early prelims

Djorden Santos vs Ozzy Diaz (Middleweight Bout) - Santos makes his UFC debut at the T-Mobile Arena after earning a contract through Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS), winning by unanimous decision against Will Currie by unanimous decision. Shakur has seven finishes in MMA, earning three KO/TKO wins and four submissions. The Belo Horizonte-born fighter has a great opportunity to shine in a PPV event and impress the Las Vegas crowd on his UFC debut.

Diaz made his debut in the organisation at UFC Macau where he suffered a first-round TKO loss to Zhang Mingyang. One Hit has a 100% finish rate in MMA with seven of his victories ending by KO/TKO and two submissions. The Californian is set to battle his opponent for a first win in the UFC as its likely that the battle will not go the distance when Diaz is involved.

Chris Gutierrez vs John Castaneda (Bantamweight Bout) - Gutierrez earned redemption in his last bout, winning by unanimous decision against Quang Le at UFC Vegas 95. El Guapo has his preference of keeping the battle on the feet as nine of his 21 MMA victories have ended by KO/TKO. The Boston-born mixed martial artist has been on the touching edge of the Bantamweight rankings for quite some time as a win at UFC 313 could see him earn another opportunity.

Castaneda had his two-fight winning streak snapped when he suffered an unanimous decision loss to Daniel Marcos at UFC Louisville. Out of 21 wins, Sexy Mexi has stopped 14 conquered opponents, claiming eight KO/TKO victories and six submissions. Castaneda will be aiming to get back in the win column as he tries to defeat a former ranked opponent of the 135-pound division.

Mairon Santos vs Francis Marshall (Featherweight Bout) - Santos made his first appearance in the UFC when he earned a second-round knockout win over Kaan Ofli at UFC Vegas 96. The Legend likes to make it a striking battle in the Octagon, making it a big favour for him as he has earned eight KO/TKO wins out of 15 career triumphs. If Santos can claim another knockout win in his second UFC matchup, we could be seeing a potential prospect in the Featherweight division.

Marshall claimed redemption in his last fight when he did just enough to defeat Dennis Buzujka by split decision at UFC Vegas 96. Out of eight MMA victories, five of Fire's wins have ended by submission, however, is only finish in the UFC came by second-round knockout. Just like his opponent, Marshall will be trying to earn his first winning streak in the UFC.

preliminary card

Alex Morono vs Carlos Leal (Welterweight Bout) - Morono is currently on a two-fight losing streak after coming out of the wrong end in a split decision against Daniel Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 98. The Great White doesn't have many finishes in the UFC, but is dangerous both on the feet and ground as he holds six KO/TKO wins and seven submissions. The Texan Welterweight will be trying to catch redemption in Las Vegas and prove that experience is vital in the organisation.

Leal made his UFC debut in his last bout, losing by unanimous decision against Rinat Fakhretdinov at UFC 308, despite many believing that the fight was a robbery. The Lion is a specialist on the feet, earning 10 knockout victories out of 21 fights in MMA. While he is also looking for redemption, the Brazilian is still in need of his first win in the UFC and could just claim it against a veteran of the division.

Brunno Ferreira vs Armen Petrosyan (Middleweight Bout) - Ferreira suffered his first submission loss in MMA when he came against Abus Magomedov at UFC 308, losing in the third round. The Hulk has stopped every conquered opponent he has faced, earning nine knockouts and three submissions. The majority of Ferreira's wins have ended in the first round, so it won't be a surprise if this fight does not continue in round two.

Petrosyan is currently on a two-fight losing streak with his most recent defeat coming to Shara Magomedov by second-round knockout at UFC 308. Superman likes to keep his battles on the feet, stopping six of his nine fights by KO/TKO. The Armenian has not been victorious since June 2023 and with the current losing streak he is on, a win will be on his wish list.

Joshua Van vs Rei Tsuruya (Flyweight Bout) - Van fought four times last year, earning three wins and one loss with his most recent triumph coming against Cody Durden by unanimous decision at UFC 310. The Fearless has stopped eight of his 12 opponents, finishing six by KO/TKO and two by submission. With a two-fight winning streak, Van is still searching for a place in the Flyweight rankings and a stoppage win could make that happen.

Tsuruya made his debut in his last bout when he defeated Carlos Hernandez by unanimous decision at UFC 303. The Japanese shares his wins with four-a-piece with knockouts and submissions out of 10 MMA victories. With an undefeated record on the line, a win for Tsuruya will not only make him an eyecatcher in the 125-pound division, but it could see him potentially have a chance to enter the rankings.

Curtis Blaydes vs Rizvan Kuniev (Heavyweight Bout) - Blaydes failed to capture UFC gold in his last bout as he lost his title fight to Interim Heavyweight Champion, Tom Aspinall, by first-round TKO at UFC 304. The #5 contender currently has 18 wins in his MMA career, stopping 13 of his conquered opponents by KO/TKO. Razor Blaydes will want to maintain his ranking against a UFC debutant and claim redemption from his title loss.

Kuniev makes his first appearance in the organisation after earning a contract on DWCS with a first-round TKO win against Hugo Cunha. The Russian has stopped eight of his 12 opponents he lays victory to, earning six by KO/TKO and two submissions. Kuniev has a very rare opportunity of entering the top five in the Heavyweight rankings on his UFC debut as a win could possibly lead him to one more fight before title contention.

main card