UFC Vegas 108: Taira vs. Park Saturday 8/2

After two months on the road, the UFC is heading back to the APEX. There isn't a lot of star power on this card, but it should be a bunch of fun fights.

IMPORTANT

Predictions DO NOT EQUAL official wagers!!!

ITD = inside the distance, meaning a fighter must win by knockout, submission or disqualification. Listed as double chance on some books.

Last event (UFC Abu Dhabi): -3.65u

2025 YTD: -15.73u

Tatsuro Taira (-360) vs. Hyun Sung Park (+285):

In the main event, Tatsuro Taira will now meet Hyun Sung Park on about five days notice after Amir Albazi pulled out. Taira is coming off a five round split decision loss to Brandon Royval, the first of his career. Taira is 6-1 in the UFC. Park is undefeated at 10-0 and coming off a first round submission win over Carlos Hernandez. He's 3-0 in the UFC with two wins by submission and one by knockout. This will be a significant step up in competition for him as Taira is a very good prospect. Taira's striking is good, but he's low volume. Taira's biggest strength is his grappling and that's how I see him winning this fight. Park is a good grappler as well, but I believe Taira is better and will have a cardio edge if this fight gets extended.

PREDICTION: Tatsuro Taira by DEC

Mateusz Rebecki (-225) vs. Chris Duncan (+185):

In the co-main event, Mateusz Rebecki takes on Chris Duncan in a lightweight bout. Rebecki is coming off a split decision win over Myktybek Orolbai in a "Fight of the Night" performance and has won four of five since joining the UFC. Duncan has also won four of five since joining the UFC with back to back wins by guillotine choke over Jordan Vucenic and Bolaji Oki. This should be a fun one between former training partners at American Top Team. Duncan will have a three inch height and five inch reach advantage over Rebecki. I've always been skeptical of Duncan's chin, but he's been wrestling a lot more lately. However, I'm not sure how much wrestling success he'll have against Rebecki. If this turns into a brawl, I trust Rebecki's durability more and see Duncan's own durability issues coming back to light.

PREDICTION: Mateusz Rebecki by 2nd RD KO

Esteban Ribovics (-280) vs. Elves Brener (+225):

Esteban Ribovics is coming off a split decision loss to Nasrat Haqparast after winning a split over Daniel Zellhuber in a "Fight of the Year" contender that extended his winning streak to three. He'll face Elves Brener who is coming off a third round knockout loss to Joel Alvarez. Brener has lost two straight after winning his first three in the UFC. This is going to be another fun fight pitting the high volume striking attack of Ribovics against the toughness of Brener. Brener isn't going to be able to match Ribovics pace and he's going to take a lot of punishment, but Ribovics defends takedowns poorly. Brener should be able to land a few takedowns, but Ribovics is good at working back to his feet. In the end, Ribovics' striking volume and damage dished out will earn him the decision win with the possibility of late stoppage.

PREDICTION: Esteban Ribovics by DEC

Karol Rosa (-190) vs. Nora Cornolle (+160):

Karol Rosa is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Ailin Perez and has alternated wins and losses over her last eight fights. She takes on Nora Cornolle who is coming off a second round submission win over Hailey Cowan. Cornolle is 3-1 in the UFC, but has missed weight twice. Rosa is a high volume striker with an underrated wrestling game, while Cornolle is a kickboxer with pretty poor ground skills. Cornolle's best chance to win this fight is in the clinch, but otherwise Rosa should outclass her everywhere.

PREDICTION: Karol Rosa by DEC

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (-170) vs. Neil Magny (+140):

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos is coming off a second round knockout loss to Chidi Njokuani. He's 2-2-1 since returning from an eighteen month or so layoff. He'll face fellow veteran Neil Magny who has lost two straight, both by first round knockout, and three of his last four. The lone win in that stretch is a come from behind third round finish of Mike Malott. Magny will have a four inch height and seven inch reach advantage over dos Santos. This is a good matchup between two aging veterans pitting dos Santos' striking against the well-rounded skills of Magny and his strong cardio. It's hard to have confidence in either side, but I'm leaning towards Magny to use his length and cardio to frustrate dos Santos for three rounds.

PREDICTION: Neil Magny by DEC

Kevin Vallejos (-425) vs. Danny Silva (+330):

Kevin Vallejos had a successful UFC debut, knocking out Seung Woo Choi in the first round. Vallejos is 15-1 with thirteen wins inside the distance, eleven by knockout. His lone loss is to Jean Silva on the Contender Series where Vallejos was a decent sized favorite. He takes on Danny Silva who has won back to back split decisions over Lucas Almeida and Josh Culibao in the UFC. Vallejos and Silva are both high volume strikers so this is going to be a fun one. Silva might try to mix in some wrestling, but I don't expect him to hold down Vallejos. Vallejos should be able to edge this out in a tight one.

PREDICTION: Kevin Vallejos by DEC

Rinya Nakamura (-425) vs. Nathan Fletcher (+330):

Rinya Nakamura will be looking to bounce back from his first loss as he takes on Nathan Fletcher. Nakamura comes from a strong wrestling background, but chose to just strike against Muin Gafurov in a horrible performance. Fletcher is coming off a split decision loss to Caolan Loughran where he was taken down six times. Fletcher's biggest strength is his grappling, but he isn't going to outwrestle Nakamura. Neither fighter is a great striker, but I give Nakamura the power edge. After his last performance, I'm expecting Nakamura to wrestle here and win a decision.

PREDICTION: Rinya Nakamura by DEC

Rodolfo Vieira (-220) vs. Tresean Gore (+180):

Rodolfo Viera is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Andre Petroski after winning consecutive fights by arm-triangle choke submission over Armen Petrosyan and Cody Brundage. He takes on Tresean Gore who is coming off a second round knockout to Marco Tulio after winning back to back fights by guillotine choke over Antonio Trocoli and Josh Fremd. At just 5-3 for his career, Gore is learning on the job in the UFC and that's not a good thing. Vieira is an elite grappler and while he's not a good wrestler, he's aggressive in pursuing takedowns. That approach tends to tire him out, but against Gore he likely only needs one takedown to find a finish.

PREDICTION: Rodolfo Vieira by 1st RD SUB

Andre Pulyaev (-155) vs. Nick Klein (+130):

Andre Pulyaev is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Christian Leroy Duncan in his UFC debut after earning his UFC contract on the Contender Series. He faces Nick Klein who was stopped with strikes by Mansur Abdul-Malik in the second round in his UFC debut. Klein is also a product of the Contender Series. This is a contrast of styles as Pulyaev is a kickboxer, while Klein prefers to grapple. Klein will come out hot looking to take this fight to the ground and Pulyaev does not have good defensive wrestling. Klein's cardio could be an issue and something Pulyaev could capitalize on like he did in his Contender Series win, but Klein's early work should net him a finish or enough to earn a decision win.

PREDICTION: Nick Klein by 1st RD SUB

Austin Bashi (-750) vs. John Yannis (+525):

Austin Bashi was originally supposed to face Francis Marshall, but now he'll take on a short notice opponent in John Yannis. Yannis will be making his UFC debut on about four or five days notice. He's the current FURY FC featherweight champ, stopping UFC veteran Nick Aguirre with strikes in the fourth round. He's 9-3 overall with five wins by knockout and four by decision. Bashi entered the UFC with a ton of hype, but fell victim to prospect killer Christian Rodriguez in his UFC debut. Bashi is 13-1 with eight wins inside the distance, five by submission. Bashi is a strong wrestler and submission grappler, while Yannis is a solid boxer with takedown defense issues. Yannis is also a former bantamweight that has recently made the move to featherweight. Bashi is going to be more physical and will put that takedown defense to the test early. I'm expecting to get a finish on the ground inside the first two rounds, likely by submission.

PREDICTION: Austin Bashi by 1st RD SUB

Rafael Estevam (-625) vs. Felipe Bunes (+455):

Rafael Estevam is looking to put his undefeated record on the line as he takes on Felipe Bunes. Estevam is 13-0 overall and 2-0 in the UFC with unanimous decision wins over Charles Johnson and Jesus Aguilar. Bunes is 1-1 in the UFC with a second round knockout loss to Joshua Van in his UFC debut and a first round armbar win over Jose Johnson. Estevam is a solid prospect with a good wrestling game, but his cardio isn't the best. Bunes is more of a finishing threat early, but he doesn't seem to have the best cardio either. Estevam will have to avoid some early submission attempts, but as the fight wears, I see him grinding out a decision win.

PREDICTION: Rafael Estevam by DEC

Piera Rodriguez (-245) vs. Ketlen Souza (+200):

Kicking off the night is a women's strawweight bout between Piera Rodriguez and Ketlen Souza. Rodriguez is coming off a unanimous decision win over Josefine Knutsson that snapped a two fight losing streak. Souza is coming off a split decision loss to Angela Hill that snapped a two fight winning streak. Both Rodriguez and Souza are pretty similar fighters in that they are physical and like to strike. Rodriguez's defensive grappling is a concern, but Souza may not choose to grapple at all. I'll go with Rodriguez to win a tight decision, but I'll be sitting this one out from a gambling perspective.

PREDICTION: Piera Rodriguez by DEC

UFC VEGAS 108 TICKET

SATURDAY AUGUST 2ND

MAIN CARD:

Tatsuro Taira/Rodolfo Vieira -115 (1.15u)

Mateusz Rebecki ITD +120 (0.5u)

Neil Magny +140 (0.5u)

Magny DEC +240 (0.25u)

PRELIMS:

Rodolfo Vieira ITD +100 (1u)

Nick Klein +130 (0.5u)

Klein RD1 +600 (0.1u)

Austin Bashi ITD -160 (1.6u)