Kevin Vallejos is on the rise.
That’s certainly how the UFC has positioned him Saturday as he looks to knock off featherweight mainstay Josh Emmett in the main event. Emmett, who turned 41 in March, is at the end of his career, but a win over him would still be a meaningful addition to Vallejos’ growing hit list.
To put things in perspective, when Vallejos made his pro debut in 2021, Emmett was in the middle of a five-fight win streak that culminated in him challenging for an interim featherweight title at UFC 284. He fell short against Yair Rodriguez and it’s been tough sledding for Emmett since, with just one win in his past five outings.
Meanwhile, Vallejos has all the makings of a future champion. The 24-year-old Argentinian made a splash in his first Dana White Contender Series appearance, losing a competitive decision to Jean Silva, before earning a contract in his second go-around. He hasn’t slowed down, winning three straight to kick off his UFC career, most recently stopping longtime contender Giga Chikadze, and the stage is set for him to shine in his first headlining opportunity inside the octagon.
Let’s see if Emmett can turn back the clock – and another budding prospect – one more time.
Where: Meta Apex in Las Vegas
When: Saturday, March 14. The eight-fight early preliminary card begins at 5 p.m. ET, followed by a six-fight main card at 8 p.m. ET. The entire event streams live on Paramount+.
(Numbers in parentheses indicate standing in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings)
Josh Emmett (12) vs. Kevin Vallejos
It sounds like folks aren’t asking whether Kevin Vallejos can beat Josh Emmett, but how.
In his 25-fight career, Emmett has only been KO’d once, by none other than Jeremy Stephens. Once upon a time he went the full five rounds with Ilia Topuria, and he’s gotten the better of strikers Calvin Kattar, Shane Burgos, and Michael Johnson, among others. Let’s show the man some respect.
Vallejos is dynamite on the feet, so his job is to not only find the cracks in Emmett’s historically sturdy chin, but keep this one standing if Emmett makes the smart choice and mixes in some wrestling. It’s difficult to ignore the glaring age gap here and how Vallejos’ speed and stamina will help him outlast Emmett even if the veteran gets off to a fast start.
I truly hate to count Emmett out, but the writing is on the wall here, and while I don’t know if Vallejos can just one-shot KO him, he will likely put him away with a barrage of strikes in the second or third round.
Amanda Lemos (6) vs. Gillian Robertson (11)
We got unfinished business with this fight. Amanda Lemos and Gillian Robertson were originally scheduled to fight this past December, but the matchup was pulled on fight day due to a medical issue on Lemos’ side. The good news is the timing could still work out for them if we assume Mackenzie Dern defends the strawweight title against Zhang Weili sometime this year. Saturday’s winner would line up nicely as the next championship challenger at 115 pounds.
Fans (especially some biased Canadians, ahem) are probably hoping to see Robertson come out on top, given that Lemos has had her crack at Zhang already and also fought Dern at UFC 298. Robertson was a fun watch at 125 pounds, racking up finishes while never quite putting together a consistent run, but since she dropped down to 115 she’s gone 5-1 and been a breath of fresh air for the division. Her grappling remains her bread-and-butter, so expect her to go full Charles Oliveira in this one rather than stand and bang it out with Lemos.
Speaking of finishers, that’s how Lemos built her reputation as well, though it’s been a while since she’s found her knockout or submission touch. She’s aggressive right out of the gate, so I’m curious to see how Robertson deals with that pressure. Like Lemos’ previous opponent Tatiana Suarez, Robertson could neutralize Lemos with her wrestling, but she doesn’t have Suarez’s takedown skills so this one could see some ugly stalemates against the fence.
Lemos is Robertson’s biggest test yet at strawweight by a considerable margin, but I’m looking for her to make a statement with a bullying effort on the ground and a second-round submission.
Ion Cutelaba vs. Oumar Sy
Ah yes, we’ve reached the Ion Cutelaba portion of the predictions where I have to pretend I know what’s going to happen in a Ion Cutelaba fight.
Which version of Cutelaba are we getting tonight? The berserker that’s allergic to scorecards or the actual martial artist capable of sticking to a game plan? And which version has a better chance of beating Oumar Sy?
It might not be up to him. Sy is a rapidly improving fighter with excellent physical tools and I expect him to dictate the range early on. He can make this a wrestling match if he wants to, or use his in-and-out movement to swat at Cutelaba until he finds an opening. Cutelaba is always dangerous, so it might be Sy who has to take a few risks to put Cutelaba away before the Moldovan veteran catches him.
I expect Cutelaba to have his moments, but Sy’s composure and athleticism will carry him through the rough spots until he takes control of the fight and finishes late in the first or early in the second.
Andre Fili vs. Jose Miguel Delgado
I’d be tempted to pick Andre Fili here… if Jose Miguel Delgado wasn’t coming off of an illuminatingnloss.
Delgado dropped a thrilling decision to Nathaniel Wood in his most recent outing, a contest with wild swings in momentum that saw both fighters reach down deep in search of the win. The more experienced Wood pulled it out, but Delgado had to have learned a ton from those 15 minutes, especially when it comes to defense. We know Delgado hits hard and fast. If he can learn to be more patient, he has legitimate top 10 potential.
Like Emmett, Fili is in the litmus test phase of his career. His job is to push Delgado and you can bet he’ll put the younger fighter through the paces. Fili is smart, can take a hit, and his technical striking will frustrate Delgado on more than one occasion. If Delgado can adapt on the fly, he’ll unlock another level to his game.
Once again, I’m going with a younger featherweight to prevail, confident that five months in the lab were enough for Delgado to address his weaknesses. If he hasn’t, Fili is a live underdog.
Marwan Rahiki vs. Harry Hardwick
Marwan Rahiki is far from a perfect prospect, but his lanky frame is well suited for the featherweight division and his free-flowing style has drawn comparisons to Sean O’Malley. He hasn’t had a rapid rise to the UFC like O’Malley; rather, his past two fights have shown he has mettle to go along with his talents.
The same could be said of Harry Hardwick, a hittable fighter who has willed himself to some impressive wins. No pun intended, Hardwick rarely does things the easy way and he’ll welcome a dogfight with Rahiki if it comes to it. The former Cage Warriors featherweight champion will look to take Rahiki down and wear him out on the ground, while also exchanging freely with him on the feet.
Rahiki likes throwing spinning stuff and you can assume he’s looking to put on a show in his UFC debut. I don’t know if he’ll catch Hardwick with one of his flashy strikes, but I like his chances of finding the range at some point in the first round and then proceeding to go for the kill.
Vitor Petrino vs. Steven Asplund
I might be more intrigued by Vitor Petrino at heavyweight in theory as opposed to actual results so far.
Making a move up was a decent idea for Petrino, who wasn’t the best athlete at 205 pounds and probably hated cutting all that weight anyway, so why not go to a division where you might be able to skill out a few wins? That’s been the case so far in his nods over Thomas Petersen and Austen Lane, both of whom failed to make it to the final bell against Petrino.
Steven Asplund is all kinds of funky. He’ll have size on Petrino, but I’m not sure he can actually take advantage of it. He’s high volume and deals well with adversity, just an old-fashioned big guy scrapper. If that sounds unspectacular, it is, but it could also take him far in the modern heavyweight landscape. I see Asplund either being out of the UFC by next year or becoming a top 10 contender. There’s no in between.
In this instance, I favor Petrino to take this fight to the mat and dominate Asplund. Grit can only take you so far, so once Petrino is on top of Asplund, breathing fire and going for chokes, it won’t be long until he finds a submission despite Asplund’s best efforts.
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