Preview: UFC Vegas 114 ‘Emmett vs. Vallejos’

Las Vegas—Saturday night’s UFC Vegas 114 card at the Meta Apex will not be mistaken for a pay-per-view blockbuster, yet the 14-fight slate offers the kind of prospect-versus-veteran matchups that hard-core followers live for. Headliner Kevin “El Chino” Vallejos, a 24-year-old Argentinian featherweight, carries a 17-1 record and 3-0 UFC mark into his first UFC main event, where he is a whopping -600 favorite against 41-year-old Josh Emmett (+425). Emmett, 19-6 overall and 10-6 inside the Octagon, has managed only one knockout in the past six years and is 1-4 over his last five outings, but his single victory in that stretch came against Bryce Mitchell at UFC 296. Vallejos, fresh off a spinning-back-fist finish of Giga Chikadze last December, is expected to pressure early and often; the consensus pick is a first-round knockout.

The co-main event mirrors the theme of torch-passing. Former strawweight title challenger Amanda Lemos (15-5-1 UFC; 9-5) meets surging Canadian Gillian Robertson (16-8; 13-6 UFC). Lemos, 38, still owns fight-ending power and a brawling kick-boxing style, yet she has dropped three of her last four, including a September submission loss to Tatiana Suarez. Robertson, 30, has won four straight since dropping to 115 pounds, using improved wrestling and durability to morph from flyweight gatekeeper to strawweight contender. Oddsmakers list Robertson at -200; the forecast is a third-round submission.

Light heavyweights Ion Cutelaba (19-11-1, 1 NC; 8-10-1 UFC) and Azamat Sy (12-1; 3-1 UFC) open the main-card telecast. Cutelaba, 31, has toned down the reckless blitzes that once defined “The Hulk,” but he remains hittable and has been submitted twice in his recent 1-4 skid. Sy, a 30-year-old Frenchman, owns the same balanced submission-to-knockout ratio as stablemate Ciryl Gane and is favored at -200. Analysts expect Sy to frustrate Cutelaba on the feet before securing a second-round submission.

Featherweight action continues when 27-year-old prospect Jose Delgado (10-2; 2-1 UFC) attempts to rebound from a flat October decision loss to Nathaniel Wood in Dubai. Delgado, listed at -310, faces veteran Andre Fili (25-12, 1 NC; 13-11, 1 NC UFC), who has alternated wins and losses over his last dozen starts. Fili’s pocket-boxing style once made him a perennial gatekeeper, but he has been stopped early in three of his last four defeats. The pick is Delgado by second-round knockout.

The pay-per-view portion closes with promotional newcomer Mohammed “Freaky” Rahiki (7-0), a 23-year-old Moroccan-Australian who blasted through Dana White’s Contender Series last fall. Rahiki, -270, meets England’s Jack Hardwick (13-4-1; 0-1 UFC), who was finished in three minutes by Kaue Fernandes in his own debut. Rahiki’s varied kickboxing and body attack have produced first-round stoppages in the majority of his bouts; the expectation is another early finish.

UFC Vegas 114 begins at 4 p.m. PT on ESPN+, with the main card slated for 7 p.m. PT.