Pre-fight Discussion UFC On ESPN 53: Ribas vs. Namajunas Sat. March 23 Prelims 7pm ET ESPN+, Main 10pm ET ESPN & ESPN+

[PurpleStorm]

This weekend it's UFC on ESPN 53: Ribas vs. Namajunas also known as UFC Vegas 89. Thirteen bouts are scheduled, culminating in the main event: a flyweight matchup between Amanda Ribas and Rose Namajunas. Here you may discuss anything related to the card including which fights you anticipate along with your own breakdowns and predictions. Please keep it friendly and civil. This thread will include updated information and articles from sherdog's writers and contributors.

Stay tuned throughout the week as we lead up to the weigh-ins and play by play discussion hosted by @Jackonfire. You can follow round by round scoring with @JayPettryMMA & friends, and after the fights you can check it out via fightfinder. You're also welcome to watch the post-fight press conference and Shillan & Duffy wrap up here at Sherdog too. Enjoy!

Main Card ESPN/ESPN+ 10 PM et
Prelims ESPN+ 7 PM et

Saturday 03.23.2024 at 07:00 PM ET
U.S. Broadcast: ESPN | Prelims: ESPN+
Promotion: Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ownership: Endeavor
Venue: UFC Apex
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Enclosure: Octagon
MMA Bouts: 13

UFC ON ESPN 53 - RIBAS VS. NAMAJUNAS​

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
MAR 23, 2024

UFC APEX, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES

Main Event Flyweight AMANDA RIBAS 12-4 vs. ROSE NAMAJUNAS 11-6

12	Karl Williams 9-1-0	Heavyweight	Justin Tafa 7-3-0
11	Edmen Shahbazyan 12-4-0	Middleweight	A.J. Dobson 7-2-0
10	Payton Talbott 7-0-0	Bantamweight	Cameron Saaiman 9-1-0
9	Billy Quarantillo 18-5-0	Featherweight	Youssef Zalal 13-5-1
8	Fernando Padilla 15-5-0	Featherweight	Luis Pajuelo 8-1-0
7	Kurt Holobaugh 20-7-0	Lightweight	Trey Ogden 16-6-0
6	Ricardo Ramos 16-5-0	Featherweight	Julian Erosa 28-11-0
5	Miles Johns 13-2-0	Bantamweight	Cody Gibson 19-9-0
4	Jarno Errens 13-5-1	Featherweight	Steven Nguyen 9-1-0
3	Montserrat Rendon 6-0-0	Bantamweight	Dariya Zheleznyakova 8-1-0
2	Igor da Silva 8-0-0	Flyweight	Andre Lima 7-0-0
1	Mohammed Usman 10-2-0	Heavyweight	Michael Parkin 8-0-0

Keith and Ben preview UFC on ESPN 53, with detailed predictions and picks for all 13 fights. Side topics of conversation include: Texas, masked 1980s pro wrestling tag team The Machines, the worst cases of "strikeritis" in MMA history, and siblings with wildly different (or very similar) fight styles.
0:00 In Praise of Texas
9:05 Mohammed Usman (10-2) vs. Michael Parkin (8-0)
17:52 Igor da Silva (8-0) vs. Andre Lima (7-0)
24:17 Montserrat Rendon (6-0) vs. Dariya Zheleznyakova (8-1)
33:12 Jarno Errens (13-5-1) vs. Steven Nguyen (9-1)
40:58 Miles Johns (13-2, 1 NC) vs. Cody Gibson (19-9)
51:47 Ricardo Ramos (16-5) vs. Julian Erosa (28-11)
1:02:25 Kurt Holobaugh (20-7, 1 NC) vs. Trey Ogden (16-6, 1 NC)
1:12:22 Fernando Padilla (15-5) vs. Luis Pajuelo (8-1)
1:20:40 Billy Quarantillo (18-5) vs. Youssef Zalal (13-5-1)
1:31:00 Payton Talbott (7-0) vs. Cameron Saaiman (9-1)
1:40:08 Edmen Shahbazyan (12-4) vs. A.J. Dobson (7-2)
1:52:56 Karl Williams (9-1) vs. Justin Tafa (7-3, 1 NC)
2:06:06 Amanda Ribas (12-4) vs. Rose Namajunas (11-6)
2:20:37 A quick rundown of all the picks



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[Luthien]

Better than last weekend that's for sure

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

Better than last weekend that's for sure

Agreed. Hopefully our picks start off better this time, last week was rough lol, we were 1-6 before we knew it

 

[Luthien]

Agreed. Hopefully our picks start off better this time, last week was rough lol, we were 1-6 before we knew it

 

[Jackonfire]

Rose at the Apex. Never would have imagined that. Maybe she requested it?

 

[PurpleStorm]

By The Numbers: Amanda Ribas vs. Rose Namajunas​

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ABHISHEK NAMBIAR MAR 18, 2024 COMMENTS​

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the Apex Facility in Las Vegas for a second consecutive week with UFC on ESPN 53. The event will be headlined by multi-divisional contender Amanda Ribas going up against former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas.

Ribas is determined to seize the opportunity of her maiden main event and deliver a resounding statement. The Brazilian boasts a commendable resume adorned with remarkable triumphs over the likes of Viviane Araujo and Mackenzie Dern. She has oscillated between triumphs and defeats across seven preceding bouts and will look forward to rupturing this cyclic pattern with a victory over Namajunas.

On the other hand, Namajunas will make the Octagon walk with the determination to reaffirm her standing among the elite. She dropped a unanimous decision loss to Manon Fiorot in her previous encounter, which also marked her flyweight debut. Namajunas will be keen to take command of her career and establish supremacy with the fresh opportunity at her disposal.

5: Namajunas holds the joint second spot on the women’s strawweight ladder for most finishes with five to her name.

2: She also occupies the shared No.3 spot for most KO/ TKO wins in the divisional history with two finishes of that nature under her belt.

3: With three submission wins, “Thug” is second on the list for most submission wins at strawweight.

4: She also has four title fight wins to her credit, which is only behind former divisional queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

6: Her innate ability to deliver entertaining fights is highlighted by the fact that she holds the second spot on the list for total fight night bonus winners.

2:56:44: She’s ninth on the divisional list for total fight time, which speaks volumes about her in-cage experience.

2.49: Ribas maintains a striking differential of 2.49, which is the fourth best in the division.

42%: The American Top Team standout boasts a 42% striking accuracy in her fights.

63%: Besides her offensive prowess, she maintains a commendable significant strike defense at 63%.

87%: Ribas is also very difficult to take to the ground, underscored by the 87% takedown defense rate she maintains in her fights.

By The Numbers: Amanda Ribas vs. Rose Namajunas

UFC on ESPN 53 will be headlined by multi-divisional contender Amanda Ribas going up against former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas.

www.sherdog.com

 

[BEATDOWNS]

Amanda Ribas (12-4) vs. Rose Namajunas (11-6)
Edmen Shahbazyan (12-4) vs. A.J. Dobson (7-2)
Payton Talbott (7-0) vs. Cameron Saaiman (9-1)
Billy Quarantillo (18-5) vs. Youssef Zalal (13-5-1)
Kurt Holobaugh (20-7, 1 NC) vs. Trey Ogden (16-6, 1 NC)
Ricardo Ramos (16-5) vs. Julian Erosa (28-11)

6 decent fights that interest me the rest are meh!

 

[PurpleStorm]

Rose at the Apex. Never would have imagined that. Maybe she requested it?

Maybe so. She has fought many times in front of big live audiences.

I'm intrigued by this fight. If they were both at their peak I'd heavily favor Rose. Seems less certain now, considering the lackluster split decision loss to Esparza followed by the UD loss to Fiorot.

 

[TempleoftheDog]

Rose at the Apex. Never would have imagined that. Maybe she requested it?

It might be. It’s not an unreasonable assumption, imo.

 

[TempleoftheDog]

Maybe so. She has fought many times in front of big live audiences.

I'm intrigued by this fight. If they were both at their peak I'd heavily favor Rose. Seems less certain now, considering the lackluster split decision loss to Esparza followed by the UD loss to Fiorot.

And was totally blown out in 65 seconds by Gillian, too. At Fury Pro Grappling 6.

I think the calmer atmosphere of the Apex will probably do her good. And she is the more well rounded, and accomplished fighter by far, on paper. You just never know what version of Rose might show up on Saturday night.

 

[Danespina]

Here's Ricardo Ramos spinning back elbowing a bunch of guys.

 

[PurpleStorm]

And was totally blown out in 65 seconds by Gillian, too. At Fury Pro Grappling 6.

I think the calmer atmosphere of the Apex will probably do her good. And she is the more well rounded, and accomplished fighter by far, on paper. You just never know what version of Rose might show up on Saturday night.

Exactly. The version of Rose that beat Joanna J. (twice), Weili (twice) and Andrade seemed top of the division. She improved her striking so much that it became the strongest part of her game. Like you say you never know what version may show up.

Ribas is kind of similar in that regard. She's alternated wins and losses in her last seven fights. She can get some spectacular finishes and looked good defeating Dern, Araujo and Pinheiro. Not so in her losses to Barber, Chookagian (though that was a split decision) and Rodriguez.

I hope both fighters are at the top of their game Saturday. We should know early into the second round if they are. Interesting that this one is five rounds. May the best fighter win. Hoping there's no controversy or sluggishness from either of them.

 

[PurpleStorm]

Here's Ricardo Ramos spinning back elbowing a bunch of guys.

Sweet. Thanks for sharing. How do you think he'll do against The Eraser Erosa Saturday?

 

[Danespina]

Sweet. Thanks for sharing. How do you think he'll do against The Eraser Erosa Saturday?

I always think Ricardo is going to do good because he has some semblance of skill wherever the fight goes. But I've lost picking him a bunch so I don't know.
Should be a fun fight though. It's the one I'm most looking forward to.

 

[PurpleStorm]

I always think Ricardo is going to do good because he has some semblance of skill wherever the fight goes. But I've lost picking him a bunch so I don't know.
Should be a fun fight though. It's the one I'm most looking forward to.

I'll keep an eye on that one. I've liked what I've seen from Erosa. Here's a few that interest me.

The co-main Karl Williams (9-1) vs. Justin Tafa (7-3, 1 NC).
Payton Talbott (7-0) vs. Cameron Saaiman (9-1).
Edmen Shahbazyan (12-4) vs. A.J. Dobson (7-2)
and early in the prelims a battle of undefeated: Igor da Silva (8-0) vs. Andre Lima (7-0)

I'd enjoy your thoughts on any of those, or any other fights on the card. Hoping for some hidden gems of action.

 

[PurpleStorm]

The Rookies: UFC on ESPN 53​

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BRIAN KNAPP MAR 19, 2024 COMMENTS

Steven Nguyen refused to take no for an answer.

The three-time Dana White’s Contender Series alum will make his long-soughtUltimate Fighting Championship debut when he collides with Jarno Errens in a UFC on ESPN 53 featherweight prelim this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A Fortis MMA rep and former Evolution Fighting Championship titleholder, Nguyen enters the cage on the strength of a three-fight winning streak. He has three sub-minute finishes to his credit.

The 30-year-old Nguyen nailed down his spot on the roster in September, when he stopped A.J. Cunningham with second round punches during Week 6 of DWCS. He controlled much of the action with a potent jab. Cunningham inflicted some damage of his own—he split open the bridge of his opponent’s nose—but ran aground at the end of the first round. Nguyen floored him with a devastating left hook-right hook combination and swarmed with punches for a potential finish. The bell saved Cunningham but only prolonged the inevitable. Nguyen stayed patient in the middle stanza, staggered the Law School MMA product with a chopping right hand and let the power punches fly to prompt a standing stoppage 4:06 into Round 2.

“It’s been a very long road for me,” Nguyen said at the post-fight press conference. “It’s been four years, I think, since my first Contender Series fight. I just had to keep going. That’s the main thing. I know there was a lot of pressure coming into this fight. I had to finish this fight. This was my third time around, so I went in there with that mindset: kill or be killed.”

Nguyen now plans to prove he belongs at the sport’s highest level by once again calling upon the perseverance that pushed him to this point. “I’ve been through so, so much, but I never gave up. I never gave up,” he said. “This has been my dream since I was 15 years old, and I never gave up.”

UFC on ESPN 53 features four other organizational newcomers: flyweights Igor da Silva and Andre Lima, featherweight Luis Pajuelo and women’s bantamweight Dariya Zheleznyakova.

Pajuelo draws a main card assignment opposite Fernando Padilla at 145 pounds. The 29-year-old Peruvian has rattled off five consecutive victories, four of them finishes. Pajuelo booked his ticket to the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series on Aug. 22, when he cut down Robbie Ring with a knee strike to the body and follow-up punches a little less than four minutes into their encounter. On the other side of the equation, Team Oyama’s Padilla finds himself on the rebound after a unanimous decision defeat to Kyle Nelson at UFC Fight Night 227 in September.

Meanwhile, Zheleznyakova faces a significant hurdle in her first Octagon appearance, as she toes the line against the unbeaten Montserrat Rendon. The former Open Fighting Championship titleholder carries an 8-1 record into her company debut, with five of those eight victories having come by knockout or technical knockout. Zheleznyakova, 28, last competed under the Ares Fighting Championship banner on April 7, when she needed just 87 seconds to put away Marie Loiseau with punches. The 35-year-old Rendon has gone the distance in all six of her bouts as a pro. She operates out of the ECR Fight Center in her native Mexico.

Finally, Lima and da Silva are set to square off with one another in a showdown between undefeated prospects at 125 pounds. A Lucas Martins protégé, Lima has secured five of his seven career wins by knockout or technical knockout. The 25-year-old made his way onto the UFC roster with a three-round unanimous decision over Rickson Thai Zenidim Bueno on Week 10 of Dana White’s Contender Series in October. Da Silva, 20, has finished all eight of his opponents: four by submission and four by knockout or technical knockout. The former Jungle Fight champion earned a UFC contract on Sept. 19, when he buried Jhonata Silva with punches in the second round of their DWCS pairing.

The Rookies: UFC on ESPN 53

Fortis MMA’s Steven Nguyen leads a cast of five promotional newcomers into the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday in Las Vegas.

www.sherdog.com

 

[PurpleStorm]

Better than last weekend that's for sure

It has to be. That's what I tell myself.

 

[Luthien]

It has to be. That's what I tell myself.

I'm always hyped for Rose

 

[PurpleStorm]

I'm always hyped for Rose

Same. I'm also hyped for Amanda. Rose on a good day has a bigger arsenal, including footwork. Amanda has heart yet a tendency to get tagged. We'll see how it goes.

 

[PurpleStorm]

More great sherdog content.

Preview: UFC on ESPN 53 Prelims​

Ogden vs. Holobaugh​

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TOM FEELY MAR 20, 2024 COMMENTS

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s latest booking at the UFC Apex brings a decent slate of prelims to the table on Saturday in Las Vegas. The top few bouts at UFC on ESPN 53 were matched for entertainment, as they feature some reliably exciting veterans. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31 winner Kurt Holobaugh looks to bring the heat to Trey Ogden in the featured slot, while Ricardo Ramos takes on Julian Erosa and Miles Johns faces another recent reality series alum in Cody Gibson. From there, it offers usual smattering of Dana White’s Contender Series graduates hoping to find their footing on the UFC roster.

Now to the preview for the UFC on ESPN 53 prelims:

Lightweights​

Trey Ogden (16-6, 1-2 UFC) vs. Kurt Holobaugh (20-7, 1-4 UFC)

ODDS: Ogden (-155), Holobaugh (+130)

“The Ultimate Fighter” is quite long in the tooth at this point, but at least the most recent season provided a path for Holobaugh to return to the UFC. This marks Holobaugh’s third stint with the promotion, and he had been one of the better fighters to make it the Octagon without picking up a win. He was brought over in the Strikeforce sale and quickly cut in 2013, then ran into what wound up as a tough slate of competition against Raoni Barcelos, Shane Burgos and Thiago Moises upon his return in 2018. Outside of that, the Louisianian kept an active schedule on the regional scene and won a whole lot more than he lost, bringing plenty of violence along the way. Holobaugh just keeps forcing things until something happens, and in the case of “The Ultimate Fighter 31” final in August, that wound up as an armbar against Austin Hubbard that finally earned him his first UFC win. For his first post-reality series fight, Holobaugh takes on Ogden, a fellow crafty veteran but one with a much different style. While Holobaugh looks to press forward and overwhelm his opposition, Ogden is a much more practiced neutralizer. Tall and long for the division, Ogden is content to stay safe and take advantage of what his opponent presents; and while aggressive opponents can often take rounds from “Samurai Ghost,” Ogden is still capable of putting together a dominant performance through repeated opportunity, as he did in his last fight against Nikolas Motta. Holobaugh’s hard-charging style could cut either way, but given that “The Ultimate Fighter” winner can match Ogden in terms of size and also figures to be a talented enough grappler not to get neutralized on the mat, the bet is that Holobaugh can win some close rounds even if his counterpart makes sure the fight is not pretty. The pick is Holobaugh via decision.

Jump To »
Ogden vs. Holobaugh
Ramos vs. Erosa
Johns vs. Gibson
Nguyen vs. Errens
Zheleznykova vs. Rendon
Lima vs. da Silva
Parkin vs. Usman

Preview: UFC on ESPN 53 Prelims - Ogden vs. Holobaugh

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s latest undercard features matches that were made for entertainment on Saturday in Las Vegas.

www.sherdog.com