Here is a look at the pivotal storylines heading into UFC Vegas 35 tonight inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Is the end near for Sam Alvey at UFC Vegas 35?
Sam Alvey is 0-5-1 in his past six fights, and he hasn’t won a bout since 2018. During that span, he suffered knockouts at the hands of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Jimmy Crute, and a submission loss against Julian Marquez.
A pro since 2008, and a UFC fighter since 2014, Alvey has been a familiar and well-liked face in the Octagon for some time. But at 35-years-old and on an unfortunate skid, Alvey’s window in the UFC may well be closing. He faces Brazil’s Wellington Turman on Saturday, a 25-year-old prospect who is just 1-3 since signing with the UFC in 2019. His lone win came against former LFA champion Markus Perez.
Alvey’s back is against the wall, but as fans of his are aware, his potent left hook is a near-constant threat throughout a three-round fight. If Alvey is able to score a win on Saturday, he likely can stave off doubters and keep his spot on the UFC roster intact. But if he can’t, it should be his Octagon swan song.
Can Kevin Lee make a run at welterweight?
In October 2017, Kevin Lee was on top of the world. He had won five straight fights — including four finishes and a main event win over now-welterweight contender Michael Chiesa — and was set to face Tony Ferguson for the interim UFC lightweight title.
He even found success in the Ferguson fight, mounting the lightweight legend before ultimately losing by submission. It’s been a rough go for Lee since as he lost three of his next five outings and has continued to suffer to make the lightweight limit. However, a jump to 170 pounds might be just what the doctor ordered, perhaps in the same vein as former Lee opponents Chiesa and Rafael dos Anjos.
Lee faces short-notice replacement Daniel Rodriguez on Saturday in what he hopes will be the start of a successful run in the welterweight division. If he can get past the imposing, heavy-handed Rodriguez, it would be a strong sign that Lee has what it takes to continue his lightweight success without the arduous weight cut holding him back.
Giga Chikadze: Is he the real deal?
Main event competitor Giga Chikadze is a highlight-reel striker with charisma, so he’s naturally attracted a good deal of attention and fans over his short but flawless UFC tenure to date.
On Saturday, he faces his biggest test yet in the form of Brazil’s Edson Barboza, the owner of some of the most incredible knockouts in UFC history. Chikadze, who came over from the sport of kickboxing and promotions such as GLORY Kickboxing, clearly has the technique to become one of the sport’s most feared strikers.
However, he has yet to face the level of competition necessary for many to declare Chikadze to be the real deal. In his UFC career since 2019, Chikadze’s opponents have had a pedestrian combined UFC record of 7-10, excluding, of couse, perennial contender Cub Swanson.
Chikadze’s emphatic win over Swanson announced his arrival to many doubters, but Barboza offers him a chance to truly prove his status as one of the featherweight division’s best and newest contenders.
Who’s winning The Ultimate Fighter?
Following weeks of exciting fights and back-and-forth drama between coaches Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega, we’ve finally reached the finale of The Ultimate Fighter Season 29.
Both the bantamweight and middleweight champions will be crowned Saturday night, and it will be an all Team Volkanovski affair in both tournament finals.
At bantamweight, fifth pick Ricky Turcios will face seventh pick Brady Hiestand. At middleweight, the last pick Bryan Battle hopes to complete his Cinderella story against injury replacement, and fourth pick Gilbert Urbina.
Turcious reached the finals with decision wins over David Argueta and Liudvik Sholinian, while Hiestand took a decision over Joshua Rettinghouse and a TKO of Vince Murdock in his finale-clinching run.
Battle scored a decision on Kemran Lachinov and submitted Andre Petroski, who also fights on the card Saturday. While Urbina submitted Petroski opponent Michael Gillmore before suffering a TKO loss to original finalist Tresean Gore, whose injury prompted his inclusion in the finale.
UFC Vegas 35 airs tonight on ESPN+ at 7 pm ET with preliminary action, then switches to both ESPN+ and ESPN for the main card at 10 pm ET.
