Despite a late-notice addition to the main event, one winner at UFC Vegas 108 seems to be clear, according to the Bloody Elbow experts.
Tatsuro Taira was supposed to battle Amir Albazi in a top-of-the-card Flyweight bout, as two top-ranked contenders were due to face off in a fight that had huge implications for a future title fight.
However, Albazi failed to pass the medicals to compete at UFC Vegas 108, meaning he was removed from the main event and replaced by Hyun Sung Park just days before the event.
The co-main event of the show sees two very similarly matched fighters duking it out in the Lightweight division, while there are a number of fighters on the undercard who are in with a shot of winning a $50,000 bonus with their performances.
The Bloody Elbow staff has made their predictions about what will happen at UFC Vegas 108, including the two main event fights as well as the Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonus winners
Tatsuro Taira vs Hyun Sung Park predictions
- Jordan Ellis: Tatsuro Taira
- Kyle Dimond: Tatsuro Taira
- Harvey Leonard: Tatsuro Taira
The main event of UFC Vegas 108 has come on short notice, but that should not affect Taira’s chances of winning.
The Bloody Elbow experts are all in agreement that the Japanese Flyweight will walk out the winner against an inexperienced Park, who may have taken this fight too early in his career.
While he is still reeling from March’s defeat to Brandon Royval, Taira is still the #6 ranked Flyweight in the division and looks likely to earn a title shot in the near future if he can string some more wins together.
While Park is 3-0 in the UFC so far, he still has a long way to go before he reaches that level and should be beaten by Taira in an exciting main event on August 2.
With four finishes in his six UFC wins, Taira could end this fight early if Park isn’t at his best at UFC Vegas 108.
Mateusz Rebecki vs. Chris Duncan
- Jordan Ellis: Chris Duncan
- Kyle Dimond: Chris Duncan
- Harvey Leonard: Mateusz Rebecki
- Ross Markey: Chris Duncan
The experts are slightly split on the co-main event, which pits Mateusz Rebecki against Chris Duncan in an exciting Lightweight clash.
This fight could go either way, with both men boasting similar records, with four wins in their last five fights in the lead-up to UFC Vegas 108.
“The Problem” won his last two bouts via guillotine choke, so he will be aiming to get behind Rebecki to finish him, although it would be the first submission loss of his career should the Pole lose the fight, as Jordan, Ross, and Kyle predict.
However, with a record of 20-2, Harvey backs Rebecki to beat Duncan, ending the Scot’s two-fight winning streak in the co-main event of the show.
Fight of the Night
- Jordan Ellis: Mateusz Rebecki vs. Chris Duncan
- Kyle Dimond: Mateusz Rebecki vs. Chris Duncan
- Harvey Leonard: Elves Brener vs. Esteban Ribovics
- Ross Markey: Mateusz Rebecki vs. Chris Duncan
The co-main event looks to be an exciting one, according to two of the experts. Ross, Jordan, and Kyle backed Duncan to beat Rebecki in the Lightweight clash, but they also think this fight will earn them a $50,000 bonus for putting on the Fight of the Night on August 2.
While Duncan won his last two bouts via submission, three of Rebecki’s last four have failed to go the distance. A submission and TKO victory, plus a defeat to Diego Ferreira via TKO, fill his recent record, with even his split decision win over Myktybek Orolbai entertaining fans at UFC 308.
However, Harvey is backing a different fight to impress. He thinks that Elves Brener, looking to break his duck of back-to-back losses, will put on a good show against Esteban Ribovics in what could be his last UFC fight.
Robovics has his own motivation to impress, as he aims to break into the top 15 rankings in the Lightweight division, and an impressive win over Brener could do just that.
Performance of the Night
- Jordan Ellis: Kevin Vallejos
- Kyle Dimond: Kevin Vallejos
- Harvey Leonard: Rinya Nakamura
- Ross Markey: Tatsuro Taira
Jordan and Kyle will have one eye on the undercard when looking at their performance of the night at UFC Vegas 108. The performance of Kevin Vallejos will be of particular interest and looks like a good choice for the end-of-the-night bonus on Saturday.
The Argentinian fighter returns to fight for the first time since March, where he achieved a first-round TKO win over Seung Woo Choi, and will hope to add a second victory to his record with another great performance.
However, Harvey is backing Rinya Nakamura on the prelims to take the plaudits. “The Hybrid” may be coming off a loss to Muin Gafurov, but he has all the tools to put on a good show in Las Vegas.
Finally, Ross thinks Taira will impress in the main event and put away Park with ease at the end of the night.
