Sleeper Fights To Watch Out For At UFC 314
The Best Of The Rest In Miami This Saturday
It’s fight week!
UFC 314 is finally here, and excitement is building for a stacked pay-per-view event at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on Saturday night.
The lineup is packed with star names, and you can check out our main card preview HERE.
At the top of the bill, former champion Alexander Volkanovski takes on rising contender Diego Lopes for the vacant UFC featherweight championship, while UK star Paddy Pimblett faces former Bellator champion Michael Chandler in the co-main event (The amazing Elle Dawson previewed that match-up right HERE).
The undercard also features some exciting contests, so let’s take a look at some of the sleeper fights you won’t want to miss on Saturday’s undercard.
Dan Ige vs. Sean Woodson
Dan Ige (18-9 MMA, 10-8 UFC) will be looking to defend his position near the bottom of the UFC featherweight rankings when he faces a tough opponent in Sean Woodson (13-1-1 MMA, 7-1-1 UFC).
“50k” has lost three of his last four fights at 145 pounds and now faces rising star Woodson, whose eight-fight unbeaten streak is tied with Movsar Evloev for the second-longest in the division, one behind Lerone Murphy (9).
Momentum is everything in MMA, and Woodson will be riding a wave of confidence following his first-round finish of Fernando Padilla in December.
Virna Jandiroba vs. Yan Xiaonan
High stakes in this one, as Virna Jandiroba (21-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and Yan Xiaonan (19-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) clash in what will likely be a number-one contender match-up at 115 pounds.
It had looked likely that strawweight champion Zhang Weili would be paired in a superfight with flyweight title-holder Valentina Shevchenko, but following the announcement that Shevchenko will instead defend her belt against Manon Fiorot next month, the search for Weili’s next challenger resumes this saturday night.
Xiaonan bounced back from her defeat to Weili by putting on an excellent performance against Tabatha Ricci at UFC Macao in November, while Jandiroba is riding a four-fight winning streak and only Mackenzie Dern (5) has more submission victories in the strawweight division than “Carcara”, who has three so far.
Chase Hooper vs. Jim Miller
Unbelievably, the veteran Jim Miller (38-18 MMA, 27-17 UFC) will make his 46th walk to the UFC Octagon this Saturday when he takes on Chase Hooper (14-3-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC).
Miller has broken a ridiculous amount of records during his UFC tenure. The 41-year-old has made the most appearances AND has the most wins in UFC history, and will be looking to draw level with Charles Oliveira by picking up a 20th finish inside the Octagon on Saturday night.
Six of Hooper’s seven UFC victories have also come inside the distance, and “The Dream” has won all four of his fights since moving up to 155 pounds two years ago.
Darren Elkins vs. Julian Erosa
Another veteran record breaker will also be in action on Saturday’s preliminary card. Darren Elkins (29-11 MMA, 19-10 UFC) competes in his 28th bout in the UFC’s featherweight division this weekend, and with 18 wins at 145 pounds he is only two victories away from drawing level with Max Holloway (20).
He takes on Julian Erosa (30-11 MMA, 8-7 UFC) who picked up two first-round guillotine victories in 2024 over Ricardo Ramos and Christian Rodriguez.
Paul Browne is a professional mixed martial arts commentator, feature writer and podcaster based in Dublin, Ireland.
