The UFC will kick off October with an exciting event at the Apex Centre in Enterprise, Nevada, on the first weekend of the month.
A women’s strawweight bout between Mackenzie Dern and Xiaonan Yan headlines a card packed with some enticing betting opportunities.
This Kwiff review highlights one of the sportsbooks offering odds on an event that could be the springboard to title shots further down the line.
Dern is the bookmakers’ favourite to win the contest and take her professional mixed martial arts record to 13-2.
The 29-year-old is currently ranked number five in the strawweight rankings after defeating Tecia Torres in her most recent outing.
That result saw her bounce back from a disappointing defeat against Marina Rodriguez last October and she will be eager to record another victory here.
Yan heads into the contest on a recovery mission after consecutive losses against Carla Esparza and Rodrigues in her last two fights.
She had previously rattled off six straight wins in the UFC and can ill-afford another defeat if she wants to gain a title shot.
Dern will be eager to take this fight to the mat and could prove too strong for Yan if she manages to secure a takedown.
Yan’s defence is not the best in the division by any stretch of the imagination and Dern looks a good bet to secure a comfortable victory.
Elsewhere on the card, Sodiq Yusuff heads into his featherweight bout with Don Shainis aiming to continue his rise up the ranks in the UFC.
Yusuff has lost just two of his 14 fights as an MMA professional and gained an impressive victory over Alex Caceres in his last outing.
Shainis has reeled off five successive wins in his last five contests, but has never previously fought in the UFC and may have bitten off more than he can chew on his debut.
While neither Randy Brown or Francisco Trinaldo are amongst the highest paid UFC fighters, both have the ability to put on an excellent show in their welterweight bout.
Brown enters the contest on the back of three successive wins, including an impressive first round victory over Alex Oliveira at UFC 261.
His veteran opponent recently celebrated his 44th birthday and may find it difficult to keep pace with someone 12 years younger than him.
Although Trinaldo has won his last two fights, Brown’s eight-inch reach advantage is likely to cause him plenty of problems.
Trinaldo is generally a durable fighter, but Brown should have enough about him to secure another winning purse.
UFC Fight Night October 1 – Apex Centre, Enterprise, Nevada, United States
Main Card
Mackenzie Dern vs Xiaonan Yan (women’s strawweight)
Sodiq Yusuff vs Don Shainis (men’s featherweight)
Randy Brown vs Francisco Trinaldo (men’s welterweight)
Preliminaries
Raoni Barcelos vs Trevin Jones (men’s bantamweight)
Jessica Penne vs Tabatha Ricci (Women’s strawweight)
John Castaneda vs Daniel Santos (men’s bantamweight)