Gregory Rodrigues has chance to shine vs. Jared Cannonier in first main event

It is somewhat surprising Gregory Rodrigues remains unranked at middleweight considering the success he’s had in the UFC since joining the organization as an LFA champion in 2021.

Boasting a 7-2 record at the UFC level with five highlight knockouts, the rising Brazilian has a chance to earn a number beside his name if he can extend his winning streak to four and get his hand raised against Jared Cannonier this weekend.

Rodrigues, 32, is set to compete in his first UFC main event on Saturday in Las Vegas when he takes on Cannonier, a one-time title challenger who has been a top-10 staple in the 185-pound division for years.

Cannonier enters the featured five-round Fight Night tilt still ranked at No. 7 despite being on a two-fight skid. He went 0-2 in 2024 after getting finished, albeit controversially, by Nassourdine Imavov in June then losing a five-round decision in a Fight of the Night effort to Caio Borralho in August. Imavov and Borralho are currently the No. 1- and No. 6-ranked middleweight contenders.

The 40-year-old Cannonier holds past wins over Sean Strickland, Anderson Silva, Kelvin Gastelum, Marvin Vettori and Jack Hermansson among others, and will aim to avoid the first three-fight losing streak of his career while attempting to prove he can still compete at a high level.

This will be Cannonier’s eighth UFC main event since 2019 and sixth consecutive main event spot overall; four of his past five fights have headlined a Fight Night card at the Apex.

Saturday also marks Rodrigues’s seventh time competing at the facility, including a 2020 knockout loss on Dana White’s Contender Series.

“Robocop” has developed a reputation for having the ability to get hurt yet make a dramatic comeback thanks to his relentless offence and knockout ability.

It’s disappointing that a main event such as this — a fan-friendly style matchup featuring two aggressive and skilled knockout artists — is stuck taking place at the UFC Apex in front of a few dozen people instead of an arena full of thousands of fans.

Regardless of the atmosphere, or lack thereof, the action in the cage itself should be thoroughly entertaining for fight fans tuning in considering both Cannonier and Rodrigues rarely take a backward step in their fights, win or lose.

The middleweight division has been in the spotlight all month with Imavov knocking out Israel Adesanya at the beginning of February and current champion Dricus Du Plessis defending his title with a dominant victory in his rematch with Strickland this past weekend at UFC 312.

A statement win from Rodrigues would add another new name to the growing list of 185-pound title threats.

UNDERCARD OVERVIEW

Co-main clash: The penultimate bout is a three-round featherweight contest between Calvin Kattar and Youssef Zalal. This matchup is like the main event in that you’ve got the more experienced fighter, Kattar, entering on a cold streak, while the rising youngster, Zalal, has serious momentum in the form of a six-fight winning streak where the three most recent of which have been submission wins in the UFC. 

Prospect watch: Touted 7-1 bantamweight Elijah Smith earned a UFC contract through the Contender Series in September and is up against veteran Vince Morales for his official UFC debut. Smith, whose father Gilbert was a two-time competitor on The Ultimate Fighter during his fighting career, is just 22 but has a skill set and fight IQ far beyond his years.

Jose Delgado is one of Smith’s DWCS Season 8 classmates, so to speak. The 26-year-old featherweight improved to 8-1 with a knockout win over Ernie Juarez on Week 1 in August. His opponent, Connor Matthews, is coming off his first and only knockout loss.

Flyweight Rafael Estevam is 12-0 as a pro but has only fought once since he earned a UFC contract in 2022. Estevam’s lone UFC win was a unanimous decision over Charles Johnson 15 months ago — a win that has aged quite well with Johnson winning four in a row since then. A win over Jesus Aguilar, who has won three in a row in the UFC, would put Estevam on the map at 125 pounds.

Early prelim switch: The UFC announced this week that lightweight Kaue Fernandes was removed from his scheduled preliminary bout with Jared Gordon due to visa issues. Fernandes has been replaced by Mashrabjon Ruzibaev, who makes his debut riding a seven-fight win streak, with six of those wins coming via first-round finish.

Below is a look at the projected bout order for the 13 scheduled matchups.

MAIN CARD

-- Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues

-- Calvin Kattar vs. Youssef Zalal

-- Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Dylan Budka 

-- Ismael Bonfim vs. Nazim Sadykhov 

-- Rodolfo Vieira vs. Andre Petroski 

-- Connor Matthews vs. Jose Delgado 

PRELIMINARY CARD

-- Angela Hill vs. Ketlen Souza

-- Jared Gordon vs. Mashrabjon Ruziboev

-- Rafael Estevam vs. Jesus Aguilar 

-- Gabriel Bonfim vs. Khaos Williams

-- Vince Morales vs. Elijah Smith

-- Valter Walker vs. Don'Tale Mayes

-- Julia Avila vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti