UFC News & FeaturesThe Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday will return to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with UFC Fight Night 253, which features another decent undercard. Thanks to the bout order, some of the better fights for this event have wound up on the preliminary slate. Jose Mariscal looks to continues his surprise winning streak against Ricardo Ramos in what should be a fun featherweight affair, while bantamweights Douglas Silva de Andrade and John Castaneda are almost always exciting. Beyond that, Danny Silva looks to build on a successful UFC debut in a potential featherweight banger against Lucas Almeida, and the flyweight opener pitting Charles Johnson against Ramazonbek Temirov has the potential to be the best fight on the entire card outside of the main event.
Now to the preview for the UFC Fight Night 253 prelims:
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Featherweights
Ricardo Ramos (17-6, 8-5 UFC) vs. Jose Mariscal (17-6, 4-0 UFC)ODDS: Mariscal (-425), Ramos (+330)
Mariscal looks to continue a shockingly successful UFC run in this outing. A late-notice signing in 2023, “Chepe” figured to be an entertaining fighter with a clear ceiling. Mariscal put together a solid record in nearly a decade on the regional scene but fell short against most of his major steps in competition. However, Mariscal apparently hit the UFC at just the right time, as he has now racked up four straight wins and earned a reputation as a bit of a prospect-killer, outworking and defeating two top talents in Jack Jenkins and Morgan Charriere. Mariscal has proven to be ridiculously durable and hard to get a handle of in close quarters, as he has consistently come out ahead in wrestling and grappling exchanges against a sturdy level of competition—a skill that was once again on display in his last win over Damon Jackson in the middle of 2024. Yet it was unclear if that win would earn Mariscal a big shot. It was an excellent performance but marred by the fact that Mariscal badly missed weight in the process. To that end, it’s not a shock that Mariscal gets a lateral move against Ramos, who’s still a dangerous matchup in his own right. Ramos hit the UFC at 21 years old back in 2017 and has earned comparisons to Charles Oliveira over the ensuing eight years, for better or for worse. It speaks to Ramos’ venomous finishing ability on the feet and on the mat but also his tendency to crumble in the face of adversity much as the former lightweight champion did early in his UFC career. As Oliveira has shown, there’s always the chance that Ramos suddenly figures out the mental side of things and becomes a championship-level fighter, but his last four bouts are typical of the type of rollercoaster his career has become. He scored the second spinning elbow knockout of his UFC career before losing two straight fights due to a guillotine choke in the first round, then gutted out a decision win over an underrated Joshua Culibao. Anything is possible here against a less athletic but tough gamer like Mariscal. Ramos could just blow him out of the water with his athleticism and grappling skill, or this could be another fight where his opponent finds a way to break him. The latter still seems likelier. The pick is Mariscal via second-round stoppage.
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Ramos vs. Mariscal
Castaneda vs. Silva de Andrade
Aldrich vs. Lee
Silva vs. Almeida
Carolina vs. De La Rosa
Temirov vs. Johnson
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