Vieira vs Tate – what you need to know

The UFC stays at the APEX for another PRIME TIME event in Las Vegas, as two top-10 women’s bantamweight contenders face off for the headline.

Cupcake chaos
The women’s bantamweight division remains one of the most competitive in the UFC, and two top-10 contenders clash as Ketlen ‘Fenômeno’ Vieira faces Miesha ‘Cupcake’ Tate.

Winning three of her last five bouts, Ketlen Vieira is looking to bounce back following her defeat earlier this year at the hands of Yana Kunitskaya. Vieira has recorded six career finishes, four by submission and two by knockout; three of those finishes came in the first round. She was attending law school before committing to training full time.

Miesha Tate had a five-year hiatus from the UFC and returned in emphatic fashion in July, defeating Marion Reneau by third-round knockout. Tate is a former bantamweight champion, winning the belt when she submitted Holly Holm in 2016. She is an exciting fighter to watch, having secured four UFC Post-Fight awards, and having 11 finishes in her 19 career victories.

Fiery flyweights
Two top-10 contenders in the flyweight division clash, as Joanne ‘Jojo’ Wood clashes with Taila Santos.

Joanne Wood holds a 15-6 record and has been pro since 2012. Wood has won four of her last seven bouts, including an impressive unanimous decision victory over Jessica Eye back in January. Jojo started training in Muay Thai and fell in love with the sport, becoming world champion before committing to MMA, she even holds a degree in Muay Thai.

Riding a three-win streak, Taila Santos is looking to continue her positive momentum. She is a rapid finisher, with 11 of her 12 career finishes coming in the first round, four of these victories coming in 1:06 or less. Santos, like Wood, is a specialist in Muay Thai, as her dad is a coach who started training her when she was 16.

Feeling Dangerous
The main card sees two bantamweights in the Octagon for their third fights of the year, as Davey ‘Dangerous’ Grant and Adrian Yanez go head-to-head.

Davey Grant is searching for his fourth win in five fights. Grant won his first fight of the year in January, defeating Jonathan Martinez by KO, and lost by unanimous decision against Marlon Vera in June. The Englishman holds a 13-5 record, and 11 of those victories were finishes, eight by submission and three by KO. ‘Dangerous’ Grant was a qualified scaffolder but made the switch to combat sport as a career when he was 21.

Off to a blistering start to his UFC career, Adrian Yanez has won his first three UFC fights by knockout, two of them came earlier this year. All three of these earned him a Performance of the Night bonus, and his last pre-UFC fight was a first-round KO on Dana White’s Contender Series. He currently works as a meter reader at City of Deer Park in Texas.