Preview: UFC Fight Night 213 Prelims

Any return to the UFC Apex was going to be a letdown after UFC 280, but UFC Fight Night 213 on Saturday in Las Vegas has a bit more meat on the bone than one might think. That is particularly true of the prelims, which are topped by two bouts that would seemingly be on the main draw for most Ultimate Fighting Championship events of this level. Phil Hawes meets Roman Dolidze in a featured pairing of middleweights coming off impressively violent performances, while right below them sits perennial heavyweight stalwart Andrei Arlovski, who looks to turn back his latest challenge in Marcos Rogerio de Lima. Meanwhile, Chase Hooper brings some extra star power to this undercard. Add in two fun late-notice newcomers, and this becomes a solid slate of fights.

Now to the UFC Fight Night 213 prelims preview:

Middleweights

Phil Hawes (12-3, 4-1 UFC) vs. Roman Dolidze (10-1, 4-1 UFC)

ODDS: Hawes (-170), Dolidze (+145)

These middleweights combine immense promise with constant frustration, so it will be interesting to see how this shakes out. Hawes’ physical potential made him a top prospect immediately upon his professional debut in 2014, but “No Hype” took the long road to the UFC. He failed to qualify for “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2016 and needed two shots on Dana White’s Contender Series before he finally earned a contract in 2020. Throughout that time, the book has mostly been the same on Hawes. He is a terror with his combination of knockout power and imposing wrestling—until the point that things go terribly wrong and he gets finished, whether through exhaustion or a lack of defense. Hawes finally put together two complete performances in 2021—he was exhausted but still stayed ahead until the final horn against Nassourdine Imavov and Kyle Daukaus—but he suffered yet another setback in November, when he looked absolutely scintillating before Chris Curtis suddenly turned around the situation for a knockout. To his credit, Hawes rebounded with what may have been the best showing of his career in a thrashing of Deron Winn in June, but there is still the nagging worry that things may yet go awry, particularly against a potentially dangerous force. Dolidze is an absolutely baffling fighter. The Georgian is obviously tough and a standout athlete, but it is hard to get much of a feel for what appears to be an aimless and disjointed game. As a light heavyweight prospect on the regional scene, Dolidze could pull out some spinning strikes or heel hooks to surprisingly great effect, but he has only showed that in flashes since heading to the UFC; sometimes, he is just as willing to lean on a wrestling-heavy approach that makes for some absolutely unwatchable grinds. That figured to lead him into a loss against Daukaus’ relentless pace in June, so naturally, Dolidze suddenly flipped the switch for the most violent performance of his UFC career, demolishing the Philadelphian’s face with a knee in the clinch just 73 seconds into the fight. At this point, there is no real sense of what Dolidze is going to bring to the cage for each outing, but his combination of strength, durability and potential dynamism figures to pay some dividends against Hawes, who always lets his opponents get in some huge moments of offense at some point. The pick is Dolidze via second-round knockout.

Continue Reading » Rogerio de Lima vs. Arlovski