UFC Vegas 102 Main Card Preview

Published by Paul Browne on February 12, 2025

Rodrigues And Cannonier Scheduled For 5-Round Main Event

With UFC 312 now firmly in the rearview mirror, all eyes turn to the Apex in Las Vegas this Saturday. Brazilian marauder Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues tops the bill alongside Jared “Killa Gorilla” Cannonier who is set to equal Sean Strickland’s record (5) for the most main events at the organization’s warehouse venue.

Let’s take a look at some of the action making up the main card at UFC Vegas 102 this Saturday.

Main Event: Gregory Rodrigues vs. Jared Cannonier (Middleweight)

Gregory Rodrigues (16-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC) has a massive opportunity to gatecrash the UFC middleweight top 15 should he manage to get past no.7-ranked Jared Cannonier (17-8 MMA, 10-8 UFC) in Saturday’s main event.

Former LFA champion “Robocop” has been on a tear since debuting inside the Octagon in 2022 and is currently tied with Roman Kopylov for the most knockouts (5) in the 185 lb division in that timeframe.

An aggressive, front-foot fighter with devastating power in his hands, 32-year-old Rodrigues has been been involved in some scintillating battles in recent years. He is willing to take a punch in order to land one and has shown exceptional resilience during his fights, most memorably when he suffered one of the worst cuts in UFC history against Chidi Njokuani and still went on to win the fight.

The veteran Jared Cannonier comes into this fight in desperate need of a win. “Killa Gorilla” lost to both Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho in 2024 and with that dropped out of the top 5 in the middleweight rankings. Cannonier is one of only 2 fighters in UFC history to earn knockout victories in 3 seperate weight classes (heavyweight, light heavyweight and middleweight), the other being Conor McGregor.

Co-Main Event: Calvin Kattar vs. Youssef Zalal (Featherweight)

Youssef Zalal’s (16-5-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) UFC career to date has been a tale of two halves. “The Moroccan Devil” won his first 3 fights in the organization back in 2020 but then lost 3 and drew 1 before receiving his marching orders.

An impressive winning streak on the regional scene (which included some detours into the pro boxing and kickboxing scenes) saw him re-signed early last year, and he won all 3 of his fights in 2024 by way of submission.

Calvin Kattar (23-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) is on a 3-fight skid and hasn’t won a fight since beating Giga Chikadze just over 3 years ago.

“The Boston Finisher” was last seen in action when he lost by unanimous decision to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 300 last April.

Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Dylan Budka (Middleweight)

2 more fighters in real need of a win. Edmen Shahbazyan (13-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) looked like the next big thing at 185 lbs when he won his first 4 fights in the UFC back in 2018/19, but since then “The Golden Boy” has lost 5 of his last 7 bouts and been finished inside the distance in 4 of those fights.

Baltimore’s Dylan Budka (7-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) beat Chad Hanekom on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023 to win a UFC contract but lost to both Cesar Almeida and Andre Petroski in 2024. “The Mindless Hulk” could be on his way back to the minor leagues should he fail to beat Shahbazyan on Saturday.

Ismael Bonfim vs. Nazim Sadykhov (Lightweight)

A potential ‘fight of the night’ candidate here. Ismael Bonfim (20-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) announced his arrival in the UFC in style 2 years ago with a flying knee KO win over Terrance McKinney at UFC 283. He was submitted by Benoit Saint-Denis in his next outing but returned to winning ways when he outpointed Vinc Pichel at UFC 301 in May.

Former Fury FC star Nazim Sadykhov (9-1-1 MMA, 2-0-1 UFC) also has a finish over McKinney and fought to a majority draw in his most recent outing against Viacheslev Borschchev at Madison Square Garden in November.

Rodolfo Viera vs. Andre Petroski (Middleweight)

Rodolfo Viera (10-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is one of the most decorated Brazilian jiu jitsu competitiors in UFC history. All 10 of his professional wins have been finishes and with 5 submission wins inside the Octagon, he is tied for 3rd-most in UFC middleweight history behind Gerald Meerscaert (9) and Brendan Allen (6).

Andre Petroski (12-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) also brings a strong grappling pedigree into this bout and has competed extensively on the pro grappling circuit, including matches against fellow MMA fighters such as Eryk Anders and Ovince St. Preux.

Jose Delgado vs. Connor Matthews (Featherweight)

2 products from the Dana White’s Contender Series conveyor belt will open up Saturday’s main card, as Jose Delgado (8-1) makes his UFC debut opposite Connor Matthews (7-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) who was knocked out in his first outing inside the Octagon by Dennis Buzukja last March.