UFC Vegas 43 predictions
Don’t adjust your sets. Yes, Miesha Tate is fighting. For the second time this year, in fact. And yes, she is knocking on the door of a title fight five years after retiring.
It was at UFC 205 in November 2016 that Tate lost a unanimous decision to Raquel Pennington, an outcome that led to her taking a hiatus from competition to focus on other business ventures and becoming a mother. On Saturday, Tate continues her quest to wear UFC gold again when she fights top-10 contender Ketlen Vieira.
Vieira is seeking her own path of redemption as she missed weight for the first time in her UFC career this past February then dropped a unanimous decision in a disappointing performance against Yana Kunitskaya. “Fenomeno” has now lost two of her past three fights, and what once seemed like an inevitable championship clash with Amanda Nunes is rapidly getting away from her.
Saturday’s event also marks the last of 10 straight weeks of UFC events, a dizzying stretch that has included some of the year’s best fights and finishes. UFC Vegas 43 is definitely flying under the radar, but there’s more than enough potential for it to end this run with a bang.
In other main card action, undefeated welterweight Sean Brady faces his stiffest challenge yet in Michael Chiesa, bantamweight veterans Rani Yahya and Kyung Ho Kang face off, the newly christened Joanne Wood looks to stop the hard-charging Taila Santos, and a bantamweight banger between Davey Grant and Adrian Yanez opens the show.
What: UFC Vegas 43
Where: UFC APEX in Las Vegas
When: Saturday, Nov. 20. The seven-fight preliminary card begins on ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET, followed by a five-fight main card on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET.
Picks
Main Card
Miesha Tate Sean Brady Joanne Wood Kyung Ho Kang Adrian Yanez
Prelims
Pat Sabatini Natan Levy Loopy Godinez Fares Ziam Aoriqileng Sean Soriano Luana Pinheiro