Heavyweight clash headlines UFC Vegas 65 card

After a phenomenal showing at Madison Square Garden, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns home to Las Vegas and the UFC Apex this Saturday, November 19 to close out the November schedule.

This weekend’s UFC Vegas 65 card is headlined by a heavyweight clash between No. 7-ranked Derrick Lewis and No. 12-ranked Serghei Spivac.

Lewis comes into Saturday’s main event looking to bounce back from losing three out of his last four fights, all by knockout. Lewis has been one of the mainstays of the heavyweight division during his time in the UFC. The 37-year-old Houston native holds the UFC heavyweight knockout record with 13 wins by knockout. The art of knockout is Lewis’ bread and butter. Lewis earned an interim title shot versus Ciryl Gane at UFC 265 in August 2021. This is where the downslide started for Lewis, as he recorded losses at the hands of Gane Tai, Tuivasa and most recently Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 277. Facing Spivac, the concern for Lewis is not whether he has the power in his hands to compete. The concern is whether his chin will allow him to take the shots that are necessary in order to win at a high-level. This fight is the ultimate crossroads fight for Lewis’ career.

For Spivac, Saturday night presents the opportunity to push his win streak to three. The 27-year-old Spivac has showcased improved striking recently, recording consecutive knockout wins over Greg Hardy and Augusto Sakai. A native of Moldova, Spivac at 15-3 overall and a respectable 6-3 record in the UFC could climb into the heavyweight top 10 with a win on Saturday night. Will Derrick Lewis regain his footing in the heavyweight division? Will Spivac continue his climb up the rankings? Either way, anytime Derrick Lewis steps in the octagon it is must see TV.

Saturday’s co-main event features two men trying to find their way to the top 15 in the light heavyweight division, as Dana White’s Contender Series alum Kennedy Nzechukwu faces the hulk, Ion Cutelaba. Nzechukwu will look to build off his knockout of Karl Roberson back in July, as Nzechukwu searches for his second consecutive victory. The 30-year-old Fortis MMA product enters Saturday night looking to find some consistency, having gone just 4-3 since entering the UFC. Look for Nzechukwu’s 8 inch reach advantage to play a big role in this fight as Nzechukwu tries to avoid the power Cutelaba with his leg kicks and striking. Cutelaba has taken one step forward and two steps back throughout his career in the UFC. Despite showing incredible power and athleticism, Cutelaba is just 5-7-1 in the UFC. Although the 28-year-old Moldovan has showcased improved wrestling, the ground game has been his downfall of late. Cutelaba has lost back-to-back fights by submission versus Ryan Spann and Johnny Walker. Saturday’s co-main event will simply be a battle of strength and will as both men search for success.

Also, on the main card at heavyweight, Dana White’s Contender Series alum Waldo Cortez-Acosta returns to the octagon just three weeks after his victory in his UFC debut versus Jared Vanderaa. The 31-year-old Cortez-Acosta will look to remain unbeaten as he faces UFC veteran Chase Sherman the Vanilla Gorilla. Sherman was originally scheduled to fight at UFC Vegas 64, but his opponent Josh Parisian was forced out of the fight due to a medical issue. Cortez-Acosta relies on his jab for power and to maintain distance. Out of the Dominican Republic, Cortez-Acosta has won four of his eight fights by knockout. In his debut, Cortez-Acosta did show a glaring hole in his game defending leg kicks. Sherman having lost three of his last four fights likely comes into this fight with his job on the line. This is a fight between two high-volume strikers. Both men land around six significant strikes per minute. On Saturday night, Cortez-Acosta’s cardio will be put to the test. We will find out if he can fight effectively on a three-week turnaround.

Continuing on the main card at welterweight Andre Fialho looks to get over 500 in the UFC as he takes on UFC veteran Muslim Salikhov. Fialho garnered a lot of attention for being one of the most active fighters of 2022. Saturday night will be his fifth octagon appearance of the year. The 28-year-old native of Portugal, garnered a lot of attention with knockouts of Cameron Vancamp and Miguel Baeza before suffering a puzzling loss to Jake Matthews via knockout at UFC 275. Fialho’s striking approach is primarily with his boxing. The Kill Cliff FC product possesses dangerous power, as 12 of his 16 overall victories have come by knockout. In contrast to Fialho, Salikhov focuses his striking approach on leg kicks particularly of the spinning variety. Thus, the nickname the King of Kung Fu. While the 38-year-old native of Dagestan may have an entertaining style, Salikhov is one of the most inactive fighters in the UFC, fighting just seven times in five years. Salikhov’s five wins all came as a part of a winning streak, Salikhov’s notable victory during that stretch in June of 2021 versus Francisco Trinaldo. Salikhov enters Saturday night looking to rebound from a loss at the hands of the leech Jingliang Li. For both men Saturday night presents an opportunity to start to make a run inside the top 15. If it’s going to happen, it has to start now.

In the main card opener at welterweight, Dana White’s contender series alum Jack Della Maddalena looks to build on his 2-0 start in the UFC facing Danny Roberts. Della Maddalena could become one of Australia’s next big stars alongside Robert Whittaker and Alexander Volkanovski. The 26-year-old Della Maddalena is an excellent boxer that wears his opponents down with constant pressure. Roberts’ unorthodox striking and speed should provide a tough test for the young Della Maddalena.

Moving to the prelims in the women’s flyweight division, former title challenger Jennifer Maia enters the octagon Saturday night versus the Iron Lady Maryna Moroz looking for her 20th victory overall. Maia’s 4-5 record is in part due to her brutal strength of schedule. Maia has fought the best of the best in her time in the UFC, including current UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, Kaitlyn Chookagian and Manon Fiorot. Despite Maia’s recent 2-fight skid, the 34-year-old has evolved into a well-rounded fighter adding a striking element to go with her wreslting. For Moroz, the 31-year-old native of Ukraine enters Saturday night looking to build off her upset submission victory over Mariya Agapova in her last octagon appearance at UFC 272. With a win the Iron Lady could push her win streak to four. This fight is an extremely intriguing matchup.

At bantamweight, intriguing prospect and Dana White’s Contender Series alum Miles Johns returns to the octagon after serving a 6-month PED Suspension for Adderall. Johns will be facing Vince Morales is a high-pressure striker, landing more than four significant strikes per minute. Morales mixes his striking and takedowns well. John likes to rely on his striking and looks for the finish at all times. Both men come in to Saturday having won two out of their last three fights. This fight should be an entertaining battle with both men desperate for a win.

Continuing at bantamweight, Ultimate Fighter season 29 winner Ricky Turcios looks to put his abysmal debut behind him Saturday night facing Kevin Natividad. In his debut Turcios only landed 27 of 235 significant strikes thrown. Saturday night, look for Turcios to have a much more measured approach. Adding to the ultimate fighter flare of Saturday’s card, Ultimate Fighter season 29 competitor Brady Hiestand will make his UFC debut versus Fernie Garcia. Hiestand returns to the octagon after a year layoff due to a torn ACL, that he fought with during the season of the Ultimate Fighter. Hiestand is a teammate of fellow Washington native and UFC veteran Michael Chiesa. Hiestand told legendary MMA journalist John Morgan “being back in the sport and fighting for the UFC is a dream come true.”

All the action inside the UFC Apex can be seen on ESPN Plus, beginning with the prelims at 1 p.m. ET and continuing with the main card at 4 p.m. ET. The Apex was critical in the UFC surviving the pandemic. The Apex gave UFC a cost-efficient way to continue to put on fights throughout the chaos. It seems like the days of the UFC holding fights at the Apex are numbered.

In an interview with SiriusXM UFC President Dana White said “unless the world loses it’s mind again, we are looking to get out there and start traveling again. We have some big plans for 2023, I want to go to Africa, I’ve been talking about that forever. We gotta get back into Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Even on fight nights we’re going to get out of the Apex and start traveling again.” After a Thanksgiving break the UFC will be back in action on December 3 in Orlando, Florida.