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Check out these photos of the UFC Fight Night 238 official weigh-ins and faceoffs at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Check out these photos of the UFC Fight Night 238 official weigh-ins and faceoffs at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Photos by Ken Hathaway, MMA Junkie)
Javier Mendez is not taking Bekzat Almakhan lightly ahead of UFC Fight Night 238.
Javier Mendez is not taking [autotag]Bekzat Almakhan[/autotag] lightly ahead of UFC Fight Night 238.
After struggling to net an opponent, [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (16-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) drew newcomer Almakhan (17-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in Saturday’s main card (ESPN+) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
For Nurmagomedov’s head coach Mendez, Almakhan presents more problems than most bantamweights on the roster do.
“He’s a dangerous guy. He is more dangerous than the vast majority of the UFC fighters,” Mendez said on his YouTube channel. “I’m telling you – this guy’s no joke. He’s one of those phenom-type guys that’s coming into the game, and you’re going, ‘Oh, he’s never been in the UFC.’
“Yeah, OK – keep thinking that way. You better look at him like a serious, serious opponent, and I don’t care about the rankings. I care about 17-1 and 85 percent knockout ratio. That’s something to be concerned about. If you’re not concerned about that, you’re an idiot.”
Kazakhstan’s Almakhan is on a nine-fight winning streak, seven by way of finish. Mendez sees him as a complete fighter.
“He comes in, good body clinch, control, takedowns, he’s got good ground game,” Mendez said of Almakhan. “He’s a well-rounded fighter – good boxing, good everything. He’s good everywhere. For me, it’s unfortunate for him that he’s fighting, to me, the future champion.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 238.
Official weigh-ins for UFC Fight Night 238 are complete following Friday’s session. Check out our photo gallery and video highlights.
LAS VEGAS – The UFC Fight Night 238 fight card now is official following Friday’s official weigh-in session.
Saturday’s card (ESPN+) takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by heavyweights Jairzinho Rozenstruik (13-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) and Shamil Gaziev (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC). In the co-feature, Tyson Pedro (10-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) takes on Vitor Petrino (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at light heavyweight.
Check out the weigh-in highlights in the video above, and a link to the photo gallery from Friday’s happenings below.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 238.
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Check out our staff members’ picks and analysis for UFC Fight Night 238 in Las Vegas.
The UFC is back in its Las Vegas home base with heavyweight contenders at the top of the lineup.
UFC Fight Night 238 (ESPN+) takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
Get pick results from our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, as well as additional analysis, below.
The main event for the UFC’s return to its Las Vegas home base is official after the headliners made weight Friday.
LAS VEGAS – The main event for the UFC’s return to its Las Vegas home base is official after the headliners made weight Friday.
Ahead of UFC Fight Night 238 (ESPN+), which takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex, heavyweights [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) and [autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) stepped on the scale for what is for most heavyweights just a formality at the official weigh-ins. Gaziev was the first fighter to the scale; Rozenstruik happened to be the last, about 80 minutes later. But both hit their marks.
Check out the video from their trips to the scale above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 238.
Check out the UFC Fight Night 238 weigh-in results from Las Vegas, featuring Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev.
LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Friday’s official UFC Fight Night 238 (ESPN+) weigh-ins at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, where all 22 fighters hit their marks on the scale.
In the main event, Jairzinho Rozenstruik (13-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) was the last fighter to come to the scale during the two-hour official window. He came in at 257 pounds. His opponent, Shamil Gaziev (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), was the first fighter on the scale and was 261.
In the light heavyweight co-feature, Tyson Pedro (10-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) and Vitor Petrino (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) each were 205.5 pounds.
The full UFC Fight Night 238 weigh-in results included:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 12:30 p.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 238.
Facing Tyson Pedro at UFC Fight Night 238, undefeated Vitor Petrino is eyeing his third $50,000 bonus in four fights.
LAS VEGAS – After a very successful debut year in the UFC, [autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag] has his sights set on continuing what he started.
Brazil’s undefeated light heavyweight rattled off three victories in 2023 after being signed to the promotion following his appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2022. He also picked up a pair of bonuses; a Fight of the Night vs. Anton Turkalj and a Performance of the Night vs. Modestas Bukauskas.
Petrino (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) will look to keep the momentum going in his first fight of 2024 against Tyson Pedro on the main card of UFC Fight Night 238 at the UFC Apex.
“I think it’s been a very productive year,” Petrino said through an interpreter at Wednesday’s media day. “We’ve been able to submit, we’ve been able to knock out, we’ve been able to get Fight of the Night. We’ve been able to show our work, and I think we’ve been able to show the world what we came here for.”
Petrino’s first test of the calendar year will be against Pedro (10-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC), who only has four more professional bouts total, but over twice the experience under the bright lights of the UFC.
“Tyson Pedro’s an experienced guy, a guy I used to watch before coming into the UFC,” Petrino said. “I like the style, he goes for it. He does a good job on the ground as well. I think this was good matchmaking, and I think it has all of the potential to be Fight of the Night.”
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Check out the full media day interview with Petrino in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 238.
Tyson Pedro has had a taste of that highly touted prospect life. Now he wants to show Vitor Petrino there can be a downside to it.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag] has had a little taste of that highly touted prospect life. Now he wants to show Vitor Petrino there can be a downside to it.
That downside for Pedro (10-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) came in 2017 when he was 5-0 with five first-round finishes on his resume, including stoppages in his first two UFC fights against Khalil Rountree and Paul Craig – no small potatoes to be certain.
But Ilir Latifi took a decision from him for his first loss, and it was the start of a 1-3 slump that ultimately helped usher him into more than three years on the sidelines. These days, though, he’s reversed that with a 3-1 run – and the first-round finishes are back.
But Petrino (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) comes in with a fresh set of challenges for Pedro, namely that the Brazilian is unbeaten – just like Pedro was at one point.
“I’m just getting there (in my career),” Pedro said at Wednesday’s media day for UFC Fight Night 238 (ESPN+) in Las Vegas, where he fights Petrino on Saturday. “I feel good where I’m at right now, so I’m just going with it. I’m like fine wine, man: I’m getting better with age.
“Bring it. That’s it. Let’s go. I was a hype train once. It just takes a better fighter to beat him, so I’m ready to take that zero.”
Petrino is a 3-1 betting favorite in the fight. He came to the UFC a year ago next week after a win on Dana White’s Contender Series. He has but two decisions on his resume, and the rest are finishes.
Check out Pedro’s full media day interview in the video above.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 238.
The odds are stacked against him at UFC Fight Night 238, and there’s no polite way to put it: Bekzat Almakhan is a massive underdog.
LAS VEGAS – The odds are stacked against him Saturday, and there’s no polite way to put it: [autotag]Bekzat Almakhan[/autotag] is a massive underdog.
Almakhan (17-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will be the latest bantamweight to try to give the unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov (16-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) a test when they meet on the UFC Fight Night 238 (ESPN+) main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Although the 26-year-old Almakhan, from Kazakhstan, comes in with an impressive nine-fight winning streak and has 15 of his 17 wins by stoppage, Nurmagomedov is as much as a 16-1 favorite at the betting window. It probably didn’t help Almakhan’s cause when the oddsmakers set the initial line that he was taking a fight against a member of one of the sport’s elite families on less than a month’s notice, either.
That doesn’t bother Almakhan one bit, though. In fact, he said it just makes what he’s up against even more exciting.
“Why do I have to be scared? I’m a fighter,” Almakhan said through an interpreter at Wednesday’s media day. “Why did I start a fighting career? Why would I be a UFC fighter and be scared of somebody? Everyone has two hands, two legs, one head. We’re going to do our best. Everybody is human. No one has three hands or something like that.”
Almakhan said he was in shape, but not in an actual training camp for a fight when he got the call to take on Nurmagomedov, who had been eyeing a title eliminator fight against Cory Sandhagen. Between last-minute visas and travel arrangements, he got to Las Vegas just in time for fight week commitments after a flight that took an entire day and night on its own.
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But he said Nurmagomedov will find out about the spirit of a Kazakh fighter.
“I respect him as a fighter. I know Umar is a high-level fighter on the ground, striking – everywhere. He’s a complete fighter. But I’m a complete fighter, and I’m going to show what’s up with Kazakhstan.
“… Expect everything from me: striking, wrestling, interviews – just be ready. guys. I’m coming for everything and I’ll show the Kazakh spirit.”
Check out Almakhan’s full interview in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 238.
UFC Fight Night 238 has lost a bout.
UFC Fight Night 238 has lost a bout.
[autotag]Brendon Marotte[/autotag] has been forced out of his lightweight bout vs. [autotag]Mohammad Yahya[/autotag] on March 2 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas due to injury. Yahya will not remain on the card.
Two people with knowledge of the booking informed MMA Junkie of the news but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
New England Cartel’s Marotte (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was knocked out by Terrance McKinney in his UFC debut this past October when he stepped in on short notice.
Yahya (12-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was also looking to rebound. The former UAE Warriors champion fell short in his promotional debut when he was defeated by Trevor Peek at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 238 lineup currently includes:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for the UFC Fight Night event March 2.
