Preview: UFC Vegas 106 Prelims

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday makes its way back to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with UFC Fight Night 256, which offers up a deep undercard. Lightweights take center stage, as Gabriel Green serves as the first test for promotional newcomer Matheus Camilo in the featured spot, one position above a well-matched encounter between Jared Gordon and Thiago Moises. Meanwhile, featherweight Yadier Del Valle looks to make an impact in his Octagon debut, and the best bout of the bunch sees ranked women’s strawweights Tecia Pennington and Luana Pinheiro square off in the opener.

Now to the UFC Fight Night 256 “Burns vs. Morales” prelims preview:

Lightweights

Matheus Camilo (9-2, 0-0) vs. Gabriel Green (11-5, 2-3 UFC)

ODDS: Camilo (-186), Green (+144)

He likely would have found his way to the UFC eventually, but Camilo wound up in the right place at the right time. Undefeated lightweight Dorobshokh Nabotov made some headlines when he crashed a press conference to ask UFC CEO Dana White for a contract in 2024, and the call was made to give him what was essentially a tryout fight on a card promoted in South Korea by Chan Sung Jung. Camilo was tabbed as Nobotov’s opponent and wound up spoiling things, earning a decision win and, as it turns out, getting a UFC contract himself. It will be interesting to see how Camilo fares from here, as he has a sturdy game that isn’t the type of standout approach the UFC typically loves. The Brazilian fights at a slow pace and has a bit of pop, but he is more than content to neutralize and outwrestle an opponent if things work out that way. Green makes for about the right kind of first test, as he should provide some new challenges while also having some questions to answer himself in this return to lightweight. A late-notice signing early in the coronavirus pandemic, Green made his UFC debut at welterweight and surprisingly stayed there for five fights despite being undersized. While up at 170 pounds, “Gifted” typically made things fun with an awkward but pressure-heavy approach, leaning on his durability to often make up for a lack of athletic gifts. Given that Green had historically bent but rarely broken, it was a surprise when he was knocked out almost immediately by Bryan Battle about two years ago, which does raise a bit of worry heading into this matchup. There’s a chance that the Battle loss was the start of Green’s game breaking, in which case he could wind up slowly overwhelmed and eventually finished, but provided the UFC vet can bounce back into something approximating his previous form, he should be able to win rounds through activity and durability. The pick is Green via decision.

Jump To »
Green vs. Camilo
Gordon vs. Moises
Del Valle vs. Matthews
Santos vs. Lisboa
Gomes vs. Reed
Park vs. Hernandez
Pennington vs. Pinheiro