The UFC’s September schedule kicks off with UFC Vegas 9 and the return of heavyweight legend Alistair Overeem.
| Staff Writers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Fortune (93-47) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Jay Anderson (88-52) | |  | | | |
| Joe McDonagh (85-55) | | | | | |
| Dan Doherty (76-59) | | |  | | |
| Dylan Bowker (67-55) | | | | | |
| Josh Evanoff (78-62) |  | | | | |
| Justin Gibbons (57-47) | | | |  | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (74-66) | | | | | |
UFC Vegas 9 is headlined by Alistair Overeem taking on another up-and-comer in Augusto Sakai. Overeem is 3-1 in his last four fights, knocking out the red hot Walt Harris last time out. Augusto Sakai has an impressive career record of 15-1-1, only losing to Cheick Kongo in Bellator. Since joining the UFC, Sakai is 4-0 with a pair of stoppages. Overeem was unanimously picked.
Light heavyweights are in the co-main event with veteran Ovince Saint Preux battling Alonzo Menifield. Saint Preux is returning to light heavyweight after a heavyweight try, and has lost three of his last four. Menifield is coming off the first loss of his career, a decision against Devin Clark after a pair of knockouts to start his UFC run. All but two writers picked Menifield.
Michel Pereira’s exciting style graces the Octagon against Zelim Imadaev. Pereira is known for his unorthodox and flashy style, but he’s 1-2 in the Octagon after an illegal knee disqualification against Diego Sanchez. Imadaev is looking for his first UFC victory after losing in his first two appearances. Prior to joining the promotion, he was 8-0 with all of his wins coming by knockout. All but one writer picked Pereira.
Talented young lightweights Thiago Moises and Jalin Turner square off. Both men are 2-2 in the promotion, but it can be argued that Moises has faced better competition, squaring off with Beneil Dariush and Michael Johnson, whereas Turner has faced Vicente Luque on short notice. All but one writer picked Moises.
Brian Kelleher welcomes Kevin Natividad to the big show. Kelleher is known for his exciting style with a 5-4 UFC record with four stoppages. Natividad is 9-1 in his career and comes in on a five-fight win streak. All but two writers picked Kelleher.
