The UFC makes its long-awaited return to Boston with UFC. The card is stacked as the headliner features a bantamweight title fight between current champion Aljamain Sterling and rising star Sean O’Malley.
The co-main event features another title fight as strawweight champion Weili Zhang kicks off her second reign as champion against Brazil’s Amanda Lemos. Let’s take a look at all of the action taking place at the TD Garden.
UFC 292 Prelim Card
Kicking things off is a women's flyweight fight between Karine Silva and Maryna Moroz. The Brazilian Silva is expected to come out on top in this affair.
Andrea Lee returns to action when she faces Natalia Silva in a women's flyweight encounter. Silva is a massive favorite and should snap her two-fight losing skid. Perhaps an early play on KGB by decision is in play here if you want to take your chances on a gritty fighter.
Middleweights are also in action as Andre Petroski takes on the experienced Gerald Meerschaert. You never know what you will get with Meerschaert, but Petroski is likely to emerge victorious in this contest.
American lightweights collide as Austin Hubbard takes on Kurt Holobaugh. This should be a competitive affair with Hubbard just about edging it out.
Gregory Rodriguez battles Denis Tiuliulin in a middleweight tilt. The Brazilian Rodrigues is a massive favorite to get it done.
Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman makes his long-awaited return against Brad Tavares in a middleweight bout. The is the All American’s first fight since his horrific leg break suffered against Uriah Hall back in 2021. With the brutal injury and at the age of 39, it is not an easy matchup with Brad Tavares on the other side of the cage.
With two straight losses, it is surprising to see the Hawaiian fighter such a big favorite. With superior wrestling skills, I’d look at Weidman to get the upset in Boston.
UFC 292 Main Card
Vera (20-8-1) vs Munhoz (20-7, 2NC)
The main card kicks off with an exciting fight between bantamweight contenders Marlon Vera and Pedro Munhoz. Vera last competed in March where was outpointed by Cory Sandhagen. Prior to that, however, the Ecuadorian was on a four-fight winning streak including wins over Frankie Edgar, Rob Font and Dominick Cruz. One more win could potentially see him enter title contention with the winner of the main event.
Munhoz, meanwhile, returned to the win column with a unanimous decision victory over Chris Gutierrez in April. It was his first win after a three-fight winless streak that saw him get outpointed by Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz before fighting to a no contest with O'Malley.
Vera has more momentum late in his career, and I see an exciting finish on the way to a title shot.
Blackshear (14-5-1) vs Bautista (12-2)
Da'Mon Blackshear steps in on short notice to fight Mario Bautista in a bantamweight contest. Bautista was originally set to fight former champion Cody Garbrandt. However, the “No Love” had to pull out due to injury. Bautista is enjoying a good run as he has won his last four in the UFC. That winning streak includes wins over Brian Kelleher, Benito Lopez and Guido Cannetti.
Blackshear is also on a winning streak as after going winless in his first two fights in the UFC, he's bounced back with a TKO victory over Luan Lacerda in June and a twister submission win over Jose Johnson just last weekend. It was just the third twister submission in UFC history. That said, given the short notice and Bautista’s run, it’s no surprise that the Winnemucca native is a solid favorite.
Magny (28-11) vs Garry (12-0)
Ian Garry will look to earn his biggest win yet when he faces welterweight veteran Neil Magny. Garry was originally set for more of a knockout threat in the form of Geoff Neal. However, he was forced to withdraw due to injury with Magny stepping up to the plate. Garry last competed in May when he became the first fighter to finish Daniel Rodriguez. Overall, the Irish prospect is 5-0 in the UFC and a win over Magny could see him potentially rise to the top 10 of the division.
Magny won’t be an easy task, however. The 36-year-old is coming off a split decision win over Philip Rowe and has proven to be one of the most durable and tricky fighters in the division. He's been alternating between wins and losses lately, but will be hoping to make it two wins in a row for the first time since March last year. However, Garry is red hot and with momentum on his side, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him to get another win by stoppage.
Zhang (23-3) vs Lemos (13-2-1)
The first of two title fights on the night sees two-time strawweight champion Weili Zhang defend her strap against Amanda Lemos. Zhang became the queen of 115 pounds again following a dominant second-round submission win over Carla Esparza in their title fight back in November. Prior to that, the Chinese superstar bounced back from her pair of title defeats to Rose Namajunas with an emphatic second-round knockout win over Joanna Jedrzecjczyk.
Lemos, meanwhile, is on a two-fight winning streak and has won seven of her last eight outings. Her only defeat in that run was to former champion Jessica Andrade. Otherwise, the Brazilian has been very impressive with recent finishes over Michelle Waterson and most recently Marina Rodriguez with a TKO win in November.
However, it’s still a tall task for the Brazilian to beat someone as well-rounded as Zhang who is a major betting favorite. The Chinese fighter is getting better and better with each outing, and should earn the first title defense by a late-round stoppage.
Sterling (23-3) vs O'Malley (16-1, 1NC)
The main event sees Aljamain Sterling look to defend his bantamweight title for the fourth time against Sean O’Malley. Sterling is coming off a close and competitive unanimous decision win over Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 back in May. Prior to that, he outpointed Petr Yan in their rematch and TKO’d former champion TJ Dillashaw.
The Funk Master would call for O’Malley leading up to the Cejudo fight and has heavily hinted that it will be his last fight at bantamweight before moving up a weight class.
O’Malley, meanwhile, will be looking to become a UFC champion in his first attempt. O'Malley is coming off a close split decision win over Petr Yan. Despite the contentious nature of the win, O’Malley showed that he could hang with the very elite. Prior to that, he had a no contest with Pedro Munhoz which followed knockout victories over Thomas Almeida, Kris Moutinho and Raulian Paiva. This is a big step up in competition for Sugar
O’Malley will have to keep this fight standing. Sterling will almost certainly look for the takedown and take Sterling’s back in search of a submission early and often –this is no secret. The challenger has quick hands and his chance to claim the title will come with his hands, or even a head-kick. While odds are very much in favorite of Sterling grinding his way to a win, I wouldn’t be surprised if O’Malley shocks the world. Get your bets in and enjoy this main event!
