UFC Fight Night: Preview and suggested bets for Mario Bautista vs Vinicius Oliveira and more

After a jam-packed few weeks in the UFC, with two headline events on back-to-back weekends, fight night is returning to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas for the first time in 2026.

And despite smaller names rounding out the event, fight fans will still want to keep a keen eye on this one as a few potential contenders are making an appearance, writes Sports News Blitz’s Finn Littlewood.

As for last weekend, it was a shame to see Tai Tuivasa lose, but what a sight it was seeing Alexander Volkanovski back on top where he belongs.

I’m not sure why they had them fighting at 9am Australian time, especially as those events, similar to ones in the Middle East, are great for UK fans.

Nonetheless, we were right on all our picks bar one, so like I said last week, let’s go in search of another full house this weekend.

Jean Matsumoto vs Farid Basharat

On a main card filled with fighters most casual MMA fans will not have heard of, we have two more in Matsumoto and Basharat.

Both unranked in the bantamweight division, Basharat is in fact on a six-fight win streak in the UFC, holding a professional record of 14-0.

The Afghan-born, England-raised fighter is slowly working towards a place in the division rankings, with this fight potentially boosting him there.

Perhaps it is my optimistic nature, but I cannot help but love a fighter with a perfect record, so I’m going to go with Basharat clinching this one.

Suggested bet: Farid Basharat to win by DEC

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Jailton Almeida vs Rizvan Kuniev

A heavyweight bout in the UFC is always fun, but here we have the sixth-ranked fighter in the division against an unranked, fairly unknown fighter.

Both are looking to bounce back from a loss in their previous outing, but it cannot be denied that Almeida’s resume is much superior to Kuniev’s.

Admittedly, I have not seen much from the Russian heavyweight at all, but I have often seen how destructive Almeida can be, therefore I think this one is an easy fight to pick.

Suggested bet: Jailton Almeida to win by SUB

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Amir Albazi vs Kyoji Horiguchi

In the co-main event, we have a tasty match-up between a rather new face to the UFC and someone you could call a veteran in the organisation.

Horiguchi makes his second appearance back in the UFC after an absence of nine years, having fought in Bellator and Rizin FF where he won titles and boasted a healthy record.

The 35-year-old Japanese flyweight once fought and lost to the divisional GOAT, Demetrius Johnson, in a title fight back in 2015.

Albazi, coming off a narrow loss to former champion Brandon Moreno, will be looking to step over this hurdle and propel himself towards a title shot against Joshua Van in the future.

Suggested bet: Amir Albazi to win

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Mario Bautista vs Vinicius Oliveira

In the main event of this UFC Apex card, we have two unranked bantamweights headlining the event, which is somewhat bemusing considering there is a sixth-ranked flyweight and heavyweight on the card.

Regardless, we have an experienced fighter in the UFC in Bautista going up against yet another Brazilian who is undefeated in the organisation.

Despite a loss in his previous bout to Umar Nurmagomedov, Bautista was on an eight-fight win streak before that, including a victory over former champion Jose Aldo.

Though his resume is impressive, I’m afraid to say that once again I am going to have to back the fighter who has not lost in the UFC, so I’m going with Oliveira to take this one.

Next week, we have another fight night event, with the controversial Sean Strickland making his return in a bout against Anthony Hernandez, so stay tuned for the preview for that one.

Suggested bet: Vinicius Oliveira to win

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