The UFC returns from a three-week break over the holidays with Fight Night 249 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
The main event features a long-awaited strawweight rematch between Mackenzie Dern (15-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) and Amanda Ribas (12-6, 7-5), who handed Dern her first professional defeat back in October 2019.
Dern, who enters the rematch ranked No. 6, is coming off a win over Loopy Godinez in Abu Dhabi in August. This is a critical fight for the Brazilian jiu jitsu world champion to prove she can contend with the best fighters in the division.
Ribas is among those, posting a 5-1 record at strawweight. She returns to the 115-pound division after losing her only fight of 2024 against Rose Namajunas last March that dropped her flyweight record to 2-3.
Ribas has held steady as the -190 favorite at BetMGM. However, it’s Dern at +160 who has been backed by 75 percent of the total bets, while Ribas has drawn 65 percent of the total money wagered on the fight.
The main card begins at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Other Main Card Fights:
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Carlston Harris
The co-main event features a pair of welterweight veterans. Ponzinibbio (29-8, 11-7), 38, has dropped his past two fights, including a split decision loss to Muslim Salikhov in his only fight of 2024. Harris (19-6, 4-2) also stepped inside the Octagon just once last year, suffering his first loss in five fights in the promotion by knockout against Khaos Williams.
Ponzinibbio opened as a +105 underdog, but has shifted to the -145 favorite with the public backing him with 70 percent of the bets and 94 percent of the money. Harris’ odds have shifted from -125 to +120.
Cesar Almeida vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan
Almeida emerged from the Dana White Contender series to win his UFC debut over Dylan Budka last April before losing a decision against Roman Kopylov. He rebounded to beat Ihor Poteiria at UFC 307.
Alhassan hasn’t won in two years, with his most recent fight against Cody Brundage last July ended after 37 seconds due to an elbow from Alhassan that left Brundage unable to continue. Alhassan has finished all 12 of his career wins to date.
Almeida is one of the two biggest favorites on the main card at -275. He opened at -300, but those odds have lengthened slightly despite the public backing him with 73 percent of the money. Alhassan has drawn 77 percent of the total bets at +220.
Chris Curtis vs. Roman Kopylov
This middleweight fight sees Curtis looking to rebound from a co-main event loss to Brendan Allen in which he suffered a torn hamstring. Meanwhile Kopylov ran his record to 6-1 in his past seven fights with the win over Almeida.
Kopylov is the -225 favorite, but Curtis has received one-sided support with 80 percent of the bets and 81 percent of the money at +185.
Christian Rodriguez vs. Austin Bashi
Rodriguez, 27, makes his seventh featherweight appearance in the UFC. He’s coming off a first-round submission loss to Julian Erosa in July that dropped his record to 4-2. He’ll have a clear edge in experience against the 25-year-old Bashi, another DWCS alum making his promotional debut.
Bashi is the other -275 favorite. However, Rodriguez has been supported by 66 and 52 percent of the action, respectively, while his underdog odds have shifted from +185 to +220.
Punahele Soriano vs. Uros Medic
Soriano dropped to welterweight after losing four of five fights, and scored a win over Miguel Baeza. Meanwhile, Medic has moved up from lightweight and won two of his first three fights.
It’s an important fight for both men to make a mark at welterweight, and it has split the public. Soriano has been backed by 53 percent of the bets at +185, while Medic has drawn 57 percent of the money at -225.
–Field Level Media
