UFC Vegas 97 - 20 Fun Tidbits, Facts And Storylines

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After a rare weekend off and just one week before UFC 306 at The Sphere, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to its Apex venue in Las Vegas, Nevada, this weekend (Sat., Sept. 7, 2024) with UFC Vegas 97. Former UFC Welterweight title challenger, Gilbert Burns, takes on Sean Brady in the main event, while former women’s Strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade, looks to halt the rise of surging prospect Natalia Silva one fight prior.

UFC Vegas 97 is pretty fun for an Apex event, with exciting fights up-and-down the card. So, before it airs on ESPN+, let's checkout some random storylines, tidbits, and statistics ahead of showtime.

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Grapplers Delight

UFC Vegas 97’s main event has the potential to be an awesome grappling matchup, as Burns and Brady are elite technicians on the ground. Burns is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion in many organizations, while Brady is a high-level black belt with a win over Craig Jones.

Yes, if two grapplers fight, it usually becomes a stand-up affair. Both fighters want to prove they are the better grapplers.

Unfamiliar Territory

Burns is on the first two-fight losing streak of his accomplished career and obviously has never lost three in a row.

Does his losing streak give him more motivation? Or, will it kill his confidence? Everyone will find out tomorrow.

Main Event Noob

After seven fights in the promotion, Brady will fight in his first UFC main event. He has a record of 6-1 inside the Octagon and is coming off a demolition of Kelvin Gastelum (watch highlights).

Burns is fighting in his third UFC main event.

6 Vs. 8

Burns puts his No. 6 Welterweight ranking on the line against Brady (No. 8).

Back To The Warehouse

Burns has not competed inside the Apex for three years. He has fought in sold-out arenas from Miami to Brazil to Newark.

Burns last competed in the Apex for the Welterweight title against Kamaru Usman at UFC 258 (he was finished in the third round.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Natty Ice Gets Her Shot

The co-main event sees two women's Flyweight contenders collide as former Strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade, takes on surging prospect, Natalia Silva.

After the worst run of her legendary career — losing three in a row all via finish — Andrade has turned back the clock (she's still only 31 years old) and has won two in a row over Marina Rodriguez and Mackenzie Dern.

Now, she takes on a young killer in Silva, who has a lot of hype behind her.

With a win over Andrade, Silva will be thrust into the title conversation and set up in a title eliminator or a fight with a No. 1 contender ... even though the division has a long jam at the top.

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‘Mean Machine’ On Overdrive

Kyle Nelson was supposed to fight Calvin Kattar this weekend; however, when Kattar pulled out, Steve Garcia stepped in shortly after finished Choi Seung-woo at UFC Vegas 84 (watch it).

Garcia is on the best run of his UFC career, winning four straight (all via knockout) after starting 1-3 in the promotion.

While it was a little strange that Nelson was getting a Top 15 matchup, a win on Saturday will most likely get Garcia a ranked opponent in his next outing.

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Welcome Back, Rongzhu

After going 1-2 in the promotion, 24-year-old Chinese fighter, Rongzhu, was released. He returned to the regional scene and scored a finish at UAE Warriors 34. He then got the invitation to compete in the Road To UFC tournament, where he went undefeated (3-0) to secure a new UFC contract.

Now, back in UFC, he faces Chris Padilla.

Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Four Days Notice

On Tuesday of his week, Alessandro Costa pulled out of his fight with Matt Schnell, and a few hours later, Cody Durden got the call to fill in on four days' notice, like a badass.

Both Durden and Schnell desperately need a win as they are on two-fight losing streaks. Schell is coming off a brutal knockout loss to Steve Erceg, which earned him a title shot.

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Biggest Favorite In UFC HISTORY

As of this writing, Isaac Dulgarian is the biggest favorite in UFC history at -2500. Bo Nickal was also at -2500 against Val Woodburn, but by the start of the fight, he dropped to -2200.

The odds make complete sense, as Dulgarian is a very good prospect who has looked tremendous thus far in his UFC career (he got robbed in his last fight against Christian Rodriguez).

The man he faces, Brandon Marotte, got slept in 20 seconds in his Octagon debut against Terrance McKinney, and prior to that, he fought bad competition on the regional scene.

Welcome To UFC!

Three fighters are making their UFC debuts this weekend:

• Yizha (25-4) takes on Gabriel Santos. This one is a little weird because, technically, Yizha fought on a UFC card, but it was part of a tournament. So, if you think he's already made his UFC debut, fine, but if not, he is coming off a contract-winning performance in the 2023 Road To UFC tournament. He holds a 66 percent finish rate with 14 submission wins.
• Zygimantas Ramaska (9-2) takes on fellow newcomer, Nathan Fletcher (8-1). The pair of Featherweights were supposed to fight two weeks ago at UFC Vegas 96, but the fight was canceled due to sickness. Both fighters competed in The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 32 and were exciting.

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CANCELED!

Ryan Spann vs. Ovince Saint Preux was supposed to be the UFC Vegas 97 "Prelims" headliner; however, OSP pulled out on Wednesday with an illness.

The pair of Light Heavyweights will now fight at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

UFC Vegas 97 Fight Leader

The fighter with the most career fights competing at UFC Vegas 97 is Andrade (38).

UFC Vegas 97 Fight Rookie

The fighter with the least amount of career fights competing at UFC Vegas 97 is Dulgarian (7).

UFC Vegas 97 Knockout King

The fighter with the most amount of career knockouts competing at UFC Vegas 97 is Rongzhu (14).

UFC Vegas 97 Submission Savant

The fighter with the most amount of career submissions competing at UFC Vegas 97 is Yizha (14).

Winners And Losers

Fifteen fighters are coming off wins, while nine are coming off losses.

Multi-Divisions

Here are the divisions that will be on display this Saturday:

• One Middleweight fight
• One Welterweight fight
• Two Lightweight fights
• Four Featherweight fights
• One Bantamweight fight
• One Flyweight fight
• One women's Strawweight fight
• One women's Flyweight fight

Beta Dog

According to Draftkings, UFC Vegas 97's "biggest" underdog is Marotte at +1200.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 97 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 7 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 97: “Burns vs. Brady” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.