UFC Vegas 26 was originally headlined by Cory Sandhagen and former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. The fight was postponed due to a minor injury suffered by Dillashaw. Now, the card will be headlined between two top strawweights in Michelle Waterson vs. Marina Rodriguez — at flyweight. Also on the card is Donald Cerrone, Neil Magny, Geoff Neal, Amanda Ribas, Angela Hill, and more. To open up the event is the only debut of the night in Carlston Harris vs. Christian Aguilera (14-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC).
Carlston “Moçambique” Harris
Standing at 6’0″
Fighting at 170 lbs (welterweight)
33-years-old
Fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Training out of Renovação Fight Team
A pro record of 15-4
4 KO/TKOs, 4 Submissions
How will Harris fare in the UFC:
Harris has put his time in outside the UFC and the 33-year-old is deserving of this opportunity. He’s beat a lot of tough guys like Carl Booth and Saygid Izagakhmaev. He also has wins over the UFC’s Michel Pereira and Wellington Turman.
What Harris is best at is pressing guys against the cage to wear them out. He’s usually the one in control along the cage with the correct head placement and position control. Harris is a solid wrestler but it’s more so his second and third efforts that solidify the takedowns. Harris can very well grind out some gritty slow-paced fights but can finish at any point of the fight. He throws some nice long one-two combinations and has some pop behind his hands. His wrestling isn’t at a high level but once he does get the fight grounded he excels. Harris has strong and intelligent top control. He’ll give too much space at times but is really good at throwing up chokes in between scrambles. His gas tank isn’t the best as he usually banks on winning at least two of the three rounds. If he was younger I believe we could be hearing his name a lot but at 33, I don’t expect too much. I believe his career in the UFC will be similar to Alex Oliveira.
How he matches up with Aguilera:
Aguilera loves to stand and trade, as most of the time he has been the hammer— but sometimes he’s been the nail. He’s been dropped a few times and finished by strikes four times. On the feet, it would be wise for Harris to close the distance and make it an ugly fight which is what he usually does. Aguilera’s biggest weakness is probably his takedown defense, though his grappling off his back is even more of a struggle for him. That’s where Harris could take advantage. I do see Harris taking Aguilera down and grappling he’s on another level. This is a favorable match-up for Harris and I’ll be taking him in this fight.
