Preview: UFC Fight Night 241 Prelims

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday will return to the UFC Apex with a preliminary slate replete with competitors looking to sort out various situations. Victor Martinez and Tom Nolan get the featured spot in a lightweight affair that should be quick and violent, especially with the latter looking to rebound from a rough promotional debut earlier this year. The first Octagon assignment for light heavyweight Oumar Sy represents another point of interest, as does the middleweight clash between talented but inconsistent veterans Abusupiyan Magomedov and Warlley Alves. Meanwhile, strawweights draw the attention at the bottom of the undercard, where the UFC has paired powerhouses Piera Rodriguez and Ariane Carnelossi with one another, along with putting together a well-matched affair between Vanessa Demopoulos and Emily Ducote.

Now to the preview for the UFC Fight Night 241 prelims:

Lightweights

Tom Nolan (6-1, 0-1 UFC) vs. Victor Martinez (13-5, 0-1 UFC)

ODDS: Nolan (-500), Martinez (+380)

Nolan gets a second chance to make a first impression in this assignment. The young Australian was one of the more promising prospects on the 2023 edition of the Contender Series. Large for the division and a potent offensive threat, “Big Train” looked poised for success in the short term even if there were wrinkles to be ironed out. Defense was purely optional for Nolan, but he figured to be able to beat opponents to the literal punch up to a certain point, which made it a surprise when he got quickly knocked out by Nikolas Motta in his UFC debut in January. Nolan gets a softer touch for this sophomore effort against Martinez, who has struggled to find his footing in the UFC since earning a contract on the Contender Series in 2021. A steady if unspectacular striker, it took “The Brick” about a year and a half to make his UFC debut, and it went surprisingly poorly. Jordan Leavitt is primarily a grappler, but he was able to knock Martinez out in a shade over two and a half minutes. Nolan should be able to get off to his usual hot start, and Martinez isn’t nearly the one-shot knockout threat that Motta is. The pick is Nolan via first-round knockout.

Jump To »
Martinez vs. Nolan
Sy vs. Tokkos
Gatto vs. Vidal
Magomedov vs. Alves
Rodriguez vs. Carnelossi
Rodrigues vs. Alateng
Ducote vs. Demopoulos