The UFC Vegas 49 prelim card features six bouts, the final three of which will be previewed in this post. All win probabilities are based on a fighter’s CC Rating and their place in the CC Rankings.

You can find the rest of the prelim cad previewed HERE.

Terrance McKinney vs. Fares Ziam (Men’s Lightweight)

Terrance McKinney

• Record: 11-3-0
• Division Ranking: 64/84 lightweights
• Vegas Odds: +105 (Underdog)

Fares Ziam

• Record: 12-3-0
• Division Ranking: 48/84 lightweights
• Vegas Odds: -125 (Favorite)

McKinney (pictured above) set the UFC lightweight record for fastest knockout in his debut at UFC 263 back in June. He’s been jonesing for a fight, any fight, since. He had a COVID cancellation in what would’ve been his second fight late last year. Barring another last minute cancellation, he’ll finally get his chance to back up his historic debut. He’s never once in his career won via decision. He’s got six submissions and five knockouts to his name. He’s also never lost by decision, having been knocked out twice and submitted once in three losses. He brings the excitement every time.

The same cannot necessarily be said for the Frenchman, Ziam. He is 2-1 in his brief UFC career thus far, with all three fights going to the judges’ scorecards. In fairness to Ziam, his UFC debut, and lone loss in the promotion, was taken on short notice. Prior to joining the UFC, Ziam became champion in tow separate promotions, one in his home nation, France, and another in Swtizerland. Ziam has a 75 percent finishing rate in 12 pro wins.

Subjective Spin on Objective Reality: McKinney has been itching for a fight for a long time. He is a mauler who will take any and all comers. Don’t expect that to change, especially given his versatility.

Editor’s Pick: McKinney

[12/BW] Josiane Nunes vs. Ramona Pascual (Women’s Featherweight)

Josiane Nunes

• Record: 8-1-0
• Division Ranking: 13/28 bantamweights
• Vegas Odds: -220 (Favorite)

Ramona Pascual

• Record: 6-2-0
• Division Ranking: 23/28 bantamweights
• Vegas Odds: +180 (Underdog)

Nunes (#12/bw CC, NR UFC) has not lost since 2013 in her pro career. That loss, incidentally enough, came against flyweight contender (and likely next title challenger) Taila Santos (#2 CC, #5 UFC). Aside from that, Nunes has been near flawless. In her eight pro wins, a stunning seven of them have been knockouts, an almost unheard of ratio for a female fighter. She will look to turn her run of dominance into an official ranking in the UFC bantamweight division, where she’ll return after this brief stint at featherweight.

The Hong Kong native Pascual takes this fight on short notice, after Nunes’ first two opponents dropped out. Pascual has had a relatively basic career to this point, having not challenged for any titles, nor put together a run of dominance. Her wild card is size. She’s fought as high as 150 pounds and will come in a full five inches taller than Nunes. That shouldn’t be underestimated.

Subjective Spin on Objective Reality: Nunes may not be able to get close enough to knock Pascual out, but at 5′ 2″ Nunes is no doubt used to being the smaller fighter. She’s been unstoppable nonetheless. It may not end in another finish, but she should get the job done.

Editor’s Pick: Nunes

Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Rong Zhu (Men’s Lightweight)

Ignacio Bahamondes

• Record: 12-4-0
• Division Ranking: 63/84 lightweights
• Vegas Odds: -210 (Favorite)

Rong Zhu

• Record: 18-4-0
• Division Ranking: 52/84 lightweights
• Vegas Odds: +175 (Underdog)

Bahamondes came out and lost a tough split decision to UFC veteran John Makdessi back in April. He righted that wrong his next time out by delivering a KO of the year candidate with a wheel kick KO of Roosevelt Roberts. It was his ninth KO in 12 career wins, a number of which have been accomplished by kicks. He is so dangerous in the standup game, able to end it at any time.

Zhu is the youngest fighter on the UFC roster at just 21 years of age. He lost his debut at UFC 261, but followed up five months later with a KO win in September. A concern is that this is the second consecutive fight where Zhu will miss weight. This time, the Chinese fighter came in four pounds over at 160 pounds. The UFC clearly thinks highly of him, but maybe a move to welterweight will be in order after this.

Subjective Spin on Objective Reality: Bahamondes is hitting his stride, whereas Zhu continues his weight cut struggles. Look for an exciting fight that will end with a Bahamondes victory.

Editor’s Pick: Bahamondes

Photo Credit: Bloody Elbow