UFC 263 is going to be one of the best fight cards of the season. That is to say, with two championship fights set, it will be great to watch. Meanwhile, Shakur Stevenson is fighting for the first time in 2021 on Saturday night. He will face Jeremiah Nakathila of Namibia, who is 21-1 with 17 knockouts. Here are our predictions for the upcoming weekend of fights.
UFC 263 Prelims Preview
The name to keep an eye on in the prelims is Canadian Hakeem Dawodu. He fights out of Calgary, Alberta, and has won his last five fights. His opponent is 27-year old Mosvar Evloev, a wrestler from Sunzha, Russia. As a kickboxer, Dawodu will want to make this a boxing match and avoid going to the ground with Evloev. Most importantly, look for cardio to be an X-factor in this fight.
Meanwhile, in the Women’s Flyweight division, Lauren Murphy takes on Scotland’s Joanne Calderwood in a bout of top contenders. This is the first fight in a new contract for Murphy, who hasn’t lost a fight going back to June 2018. However, Calderwood is currently the -152 betting favorite according to DraftKings, so don’t expect her to go down without a fight. The winner of this contest will likely take on Valentina Shevchenko in a title fight.
In addition, Eryk Anders and Darren Stewart will meet once again in the light heavyweight division. The two originally faced off on March 13th but ended as a no-contest due to Anders landing an illegal knee to Stewart’s head. This is going to be a fun rematch that you will want to tune in for Saturday night.
Finally, Drew Dober takes on up and comer Brad Riddell in a battle of lightweights. Dober has lost just four fights since 2015, all of them coming via submission. I’m excited to see him take on Riddell, who is a member of City Kickboxing, the same team that Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanovski fight for. Look for a highly competitive fight between two guys who are each looking to move up the lightweight rankings.
UFC 263 Main Card Preview
In addition to exciting prelim fights, we have a tremendous main card. It starts with Paul Craig and Jamahal Hill in another light heavyweight bout. Craig and Hill are both the 14th and 15th ranked fighters in their class respectively and have a long way to before competing for a potential title fight. Certainly, I’m excited to see if Hill, a former DWCS winner, can get another win over a quality opponent. Don’t be surprised if this fight goes the distance.
At welterweight, Demian Maia faces off against 32-year-old Belal Muhammad. Maia, a well-known submission artist, has not fought since March 2020 when he lost to Gilbert Burns via TKO. Muhammad is coming off a non-contest due to an eye poke from Leon Edwards on March 13th. However, his unanimous decision victory over Dhiego Lima in February is up there for one of the best fights of 2021. This will be a great fight between two great fighters.
Certainly, this next contest has “Fight of the Night” written all over it. Leon Edwards will challenge Nate Diaz in a five-round non-title, non-main event contest. Diaz has not fought since losing to Jorge Masvidal in November 2019 for the BMF title. He’ll take on Edwards, who’s only fought once in almost two years (when he fought the aforementioned Muhammad in a non-contest). Both guys, even Diaz, are fighting for titles and Dana White will have to give the winner a hard look for a championship fight.
Co-Main and Main Event Preview
In the first championship fight of the night, Flyweigths Deiveson Figueiredo will take on Brandon Moreno in a rematch of their December 2020 title bout. Consequently, the first match ended in a majority draw. However, with plenty of time to train and prepare for this fight, both of these men will come out punching. For a division that needs to creates some positive momentum, this fight is a great opportunity for that to happen.
Finally, in the main event of the evening, Israel Adesanya will take on Marvin Vettori for the UFC Middleweight Championship. These men have fought each other once before, with Adesanya winning by split decision in April 2018. I am intrigued to see how they match up stylistically three years later as they are much improved from three years ago. I have to go with “Stylebender” to win because he’s one of my favorite UFC fighters but Vettori will put up a strong challenge.
Shakur Stevenson vs. Jeremiah Nakathila (12 Rounds)
The boxing event of the night features Shakur Stevenson battling Namibia’s Jeremiah Nakathila in a 12-round bout for the WBO interim junior lightweight title. Stevenson, an undefeated 23-year-old from Newark, New Jersey, is moving up a weight class to make this fight possible. He’s hoping this fight will be a jumpstart to fighting Oscar Valdez next but look for that fight to happen in 2022.
For Nakathila, this is easily the biggest fight of his career. He’s fought outside of Namibia just once in his career and Saturday will be his first time boxing in the US. He is 31-years-old with a 21-1 record, including 17 KOs. With an opportunity to become champion, he’ll surely make the most of this fight. As seen in the video above, he’s not afraid of a challenge, which you love to see.
Conclusion
This UFC 263 card is stacked. The boxing world will declare a new champion after Saturday. It’s a great time to be in the combat sports and Saturday night is a big reason why. It will have my attention and I’m sure it will have yours as well. Enjoy and may the best fighter win.
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