ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – SEPTEMBER 07: Curtis Blaydes of United States commemorates success over Shamil Abdurakhimov of Russia throughout the UFC 242 event at The Arena on September 07, 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Picture by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

Here’s the preview and predictions for UFC Vegas 3: Curtis Blaydes vs Alexander Volkov.

2 heavyweight competitors will clash in the main event of UFC Vegas 3, as No. 3 ranked Curtis Blaydes takes on No. 7 ranked Alexander Volkov. Both men are looking for another win and big performance on the road to a title shot.

Blaydes enters this contest on a three-fight streak and having lost just twice in the Octagon thus far — both times to Francis Ngannou. Blaydes enters this bout off back-to-back second-round finishes, defeating Shamil Abdurakhimov at UFC 242 and former champ Junior dos Santos at UFC Raleigh in January.

Volkov, the former heavyweight champion of Bellator and M-1 Global, has been on a roll since arriving to the Octagon in 2016. Volkov bested the likes of Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve and former champ Fabricio Werdum before a last-second, come-from-behind loss to Derrick Lewis. Volkov last competed at UFC Moscow in November, defeating Greg Hardy.

Who wins the UFC Vegas 3 main event: Curtis Blaydes or Alexander Volkov?

The co-main event will see a battle of top-10 featherweight contenders, as Josh Emmett takes on Shane Burgos. Emmett comes into this contest off back-to-back major KO/TKO wins against Michael Johnson and Mirsad Bektic in 2019. Burgos, meanwhile, enters on a three-fight win streak, most recently submitting Makwan Amirkhani at UFC 244 in November.

The rest of the main card will see action from Raquel Pennington, Belal Muhammad, Jim Miller and more. The prelims, meanwhile, will feature Clay Guida, Roxanne Modafferi, Gillian Robertson and more.

This article will preview each of the five main card bouts at UFC Vegas 3 and attempt to select a winner.

Curtis Blaydes vs. Alexander Volkov preview and prediction

Curtis Blaydes dropped his UFC debut to Francis Ngannou but quickly rebounded and got off to a hot start and a quick rise up the heavyweight rankings. He went on a 5-0 (1 NC) run, which included wins over Aleksei Oleinik, Mark Hunt and Alistair Overeem before a second loss to Ngannou. Blaydes enters this fight on a three-fight win streak, defeating Justin Willis by decision and scoring second-round stoppages of Shamil Abdurakhimov and Junior dos Santos.

Volkov, the former heavyweight champion of Bellator and M-1 Global, got off to his own hot start in the Octagon, getting decision wins over Timothy Johnson and Roy Nelson, as well as finishes of Stefan Struve and Fabricio Werdum. He was seconds away from defeating Derrick Lewis at UFC 229 before getting knocked out. After a USADA issue, Volkov returned to the cage at UFC Moscow in November, making easy work of Greg Hardy in a decision.

FightMetrics has Volkov entering into this contest with a three-inch edge in height however both men hold enormous reaches of 80 inches. Volkov will have a minor edge in striking, landing 1.5 more substantial strikes per minute typically and a somewhat much better striking precision. With that, nevertheless, it likewise comes soaking up simply a bit more than Blaydes.

On the ground however, Blaydes does a few of his best work, balancing almost 7 takedowns in a single battle. He’s landed about half of the takedowns he’s tried inside the Octagon, however Volkov has actually stopped the majority of the ones that have actually come his method. Volkov has actually managed himself well versus ground-game people like Werdum and Nelson, however Blaydes is a totally various monster because location.

If Volkov can avoid Blaydes and discover an effective variety and work his striking, he might have the ability to do enough to take a decision or perhaps even get a late interruption onBlaydes Just Ngannou has actually been able to figure out Blaydes in that cage so far, and that might spell difficulty for Volkov. If he begins to overwhelm Volkov with ground-and- pound, it’ll be over not long after.

Forecast: Blaydes through 3rd-round KO/TKO

Josh Emmett vs. Shane Burgos preview and forecast

Because his 2016 Octagon debut, Josh Emmett has actually made sounds with his present 6-2 UFCrecord Emmett scored decision wins over Jon Tuck and Scott Holtzman prior to a loss to Desmond Green. He then scored a decision over Felipe Arantes and a knockout of Ricardo Lamas prior to a knockout loss to Jeremy Stephens. Emmett enters this contest after a 2019 where he scored a return knockout of Michael Johnson and a first-round finish of Mirsad Bektic.

This will be Shane Burgos’ first battle because signing a brand-new UFC agreement as a totally free representative previously this year. He began his UFC period with 3 straight wins and a Battle of the Night benefit prior to suffering his only profession loss so far at the hands of Calvin Kattar– however still making a Battle of the Night benefit while doing so. Burgos enters this battle on a three-fight win streak, sending Kurt Holobaugh, edging out Cub Swanson and getting a late finish of Makwan Amirkhani.

The Tale of the Tape here has Burgos being available in with big five-inch benefits in both height and reach. FightMetrics likewise has Burgos holding a big edge in substantial strikes per minute and striking precision. Since he’s remained in more bangers, Burgos’ strikes taken in per minute is rather high, however he still isn’t too away from Emmett in regards to striking defense portion.

Emmett tends to score a takedown or 2 in a battle, however Burgos has a 90 percent takedown defense portion. Even when he does get taken down in a battle, the opponent’s takedown success ratio in the bout is rather bad by its end.

Emmett has some excellent wrestling and destructive power that can knock a male out at any point in the battle. Burgos can be a finisher, too, nevertheless, and he has some excellent cardio and need to have the ability to press the speed with Emmett or hold up and trade with him. Burgos likewise has rather the size edge here, and if he can continue the outside and discover his variety, and/ or choose the best areas to come in and not permit Emmett to get on the within (a minimum of not excessive), Burgos has what it requires to get the win regardless of Emmett’s experience.

Get Ready For what might effectively be a Battle of the Night prospect.

Forecast: Burgos through split decision

Raquel Pennington vs. Marion Reneau preview and forecast

Raquel Pennington was 3-3 with a 1-2 Invicta record when she got the call to complete on Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter, where she made it to thesemifinals Pennington divided her first 4 Octagon bouts, beating Roxanne Modafferi and Ashlee Evans-Smith and losing to future champions Jessica Andrade and Holly Holm. Pennington then acquired a four-fight win streak prior to challenging Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight title at UFC 224, losing by 5th-round TKO. Pennington has actually because dropped a decision to Germaine de Randamie, edged out Irene Aldana on the scorecards and lost a rematch with Holm.

This will be Marion Reneau’s first battle because March2019 A member of the UFC’s lineup because her UFC 182 debut, Reneau went unbeaten in between November 2016 and February 2018, however she’ll enter this bout off back-to-back consentaneous decision losses versus Feline Zingano and Yana Kunitskaya.

The FightMetrics for this one have Pennington being available in with one-inch edges in height and reach, and Pennington has to do with 11 years Reneau’s junior. The 2 are relatively even in their striking, although Reneau simply has a narrow edge in the defensive side of things there. Pennington’s takedown precision portion isn’t excellent by any ways, however she normally scores one in a battle. Both girls here have good takedown defense portions, and Reneau normally leaves a minimum of one submission effort in a battle.

While Reneau has some Muay Thai in her background, this one’s more going to be your normal striker vs. grappler fight. Both have actually dealt with some good competition in the past– with both holding wins over Jessica Andrade and having actually dealt with Holm and Sara McMann– however Pennington’s minor edge in experience might do her excellent here.

Forecast: Pennington through consentaneous decision

Lyman Good vs. Belal Muhammad preview and forecast

The inaugural welterweight champ of Bellator, Lyman Good has actually traded wins and losses in his minimal time inside the Octagon. He had an effective UFC debut versus Andrew Craig however dropped a decision to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. He then scored a 92-second knockout of Ben Saunders at UFC 230 however suffered a first-round submission loss to Demian Maia in February2019 Excellent was last in action at UFC 244 in November, getting a 3rd-round interruption win over Chance Rencountre.

After going 1-2 in 2016 to start his UFC run, Muhammad acquired a four-fight win streak prior to a loss to Geoff Neal in January2019 Muhammad enters this combat back-to-back success, getting a consentaneous decision over Curtis Millender at UFC 236 and sending Takashi Sato at UFC 242.

Per FightMetrics, Excellent will get in with a one-inch edge in height and two-inch edge in reach. These both like to trade, even based upon their striking numbers alone, however it’s Excellent who has a minor edge in that department. Muhammad, on the other hand, normally scores a number of takedowns per battle, however he’ll need to handle Good’s 75 percent takedown defense portion.

This feels like a really even match and a Battle of the Night sleeper choice. If the battle goes to the ground, Muhammad is a difficult cookie and it’ll be unsafe for Excellent. Excellent has the experience of being a former world champ in this sport, and not just is his striking excellent, however so is his takedown defense. And when somebody has the ability to stop Muhammad’s takedown attack (reflect to Geoff Neal in 2015), it does a lot of advantage for them and puts a lot of problem on Muhammad.

Good’s striking and takedown defense might simply provide him the edge and the win in this one.

Forecast: Excellent through consentaneous decision

Jim Miller vs. Roosevelt Roberts preview and forecast

Jim Miller is among the UFC’s longest-tenured fighters, having actually completed inside the Octagon because 2008 and setting his mark even without winning any UFC titles. Miller holds the most bouts and wins in UFC light-weight history, is currently connected for third-most wins in UFC history and remains in a near-consistent tie with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone for the majority of battles in UFChistory Miller has won 3 of his last 5 battles however lost his latest bout by decision to Scott Holtzman in the UFC Rio Rancho Battle of the Night in February.

Roosevelt Roberts got into the UFC after a win over Garrett Gross on Dana White’s Competitor Series. He then won versus Darrell Horcher and Thomas Gifford prior to suffering his first profession defeat versus Vinc Pichel. Roberts rebounded with a win over Alexander Yakovlev, and simply 2 weeks earlier at UFC Vegas 1, he sent Brok Weaver.

According to the FightMetrics, Roberts will enter this bout with Miller with a six-inch benefit in height and a two-inch edge in reach, along with being Miller’s junior by a years. The 2 are almost even in their striking numbers, with Roberts doing a little much better in the precision and landing, and Miller doing much better defensively. Both score a couple of takedowns in a battle typically, though Roberts has the a little much better numbers– that might clearly be due to the fact that he hasn’t dealt with the skill that Miller has.

Miller is definitely going to be a difficult best for Roberts, as he has a lot of battle experience and will provide him a lot of resistance on the ground. Roberts is a finisher and can win a battle by any ways, however Miller might be too long lasting still for him to get one here. Roberts’ youth, growth and capacity will most likely win out here over Miller’s experience.

Forecast: Roberts through consentaneous decision

Next: Top 10 knockouts that ended a UFC profession

UFC Vegas 3 happens on Saturday, June 20, 2020 live from the UFC Peak in Las Vegas, NV. Follow in addition to FanSided for all your live news and highlights.

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