UFC on ABC 2: Vettori vs. Holland Odds, Schedule, Predictions

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

The UFC hosts its second event on ABC with a middleweight main event between Marvin Vettori and Kevin Holland from the APEX Facility in Las Vegas.

It isn't quite the main event the UFC was envisioning when the card was put together. Vettori was originally slated to fight Darren Till. However, Till suffered a broken collarbone and Holland was called upon to be a short-notice replacement.

That's nothing new for Holland, who remains one of the most active fighters in the UFC. He'll be looking to bounce back after losing to Derek Brunson just three weeks ago.

Vettori, meanwhile, brings a four-fight win streak to the fight. A win over Holland could put him on a path for a much bigger fight next time out and a potential title fight after that.

The bout headlines a card filled with some interesting matchups that should turn out to be fun fights. Here's a look at the entire lineup and a closer look at the biggest fights on the card.

Andy Brownbill/Associated Press

Main Card (ABC/ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET)

• Kevin Holland (+260; $100 bet wins $260) vs. Marvin Vettori (-335; $100 bet wins $29.85)
• Sodiq Yusuff (-152) vs. Arnold Allen (+125)
• Sam Alvey (+160) vs. Julian Marquez (-200)
• Nina Nunes (-143) vs. Mackenzie Dern (+110)
• Mike Perry (+120) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (-150)

Prelims (ESPN+ at Noon ET)

• Jim Miller (+195) vs. Joe Solecki (-250)
• Scott Holtzman (+195) vs. Mateusz Gamrot (-250)
• Erin Blanchfield (+195) vs. Norma Dumont (-250)
• John Makdessi (+158) vs. Ignacio Bahamondes (-200)
• Yorgan De Castro (-315) vs. Jarjis Danho (+235)
• Hunter Azure (+145) vs. Jack Shore (-182)
• Luis Saldana (-143) vs. Jordan Griffin (+112)
• Da Un Jung (-141) vs. William Knight (+111)
• Impa Kasanganay (-335) vs. Sasha Palatnikov (+245)

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

Kevin Holland has already carved out a niche as the new era's Donald Cerrone. He's racked up 11 fights already since debuting in August 2018, so quick turnarounds are nothing new to him.

That will be important because he faces a dangerous opponent in Marvin Vettori.

Holland has established himself as an interesting striker in the division. With an 81" reach, he has rare length for the division and does well enough to use it to establish an advantage at distance. Yet he still does well enough when the fight goes to the clinch.

Brunson exposed a weakness in his game, though. He took down Holland six times en route to a one-sided decision that saw Trailblazer's winning streak snapped and some of his mystique taken away.

That weakness could be an issue against Vettori once again. The Italian Dream is a strong grappler. He only averages 1.33 takedowns per 15 minutes, but he seems to have a good understanding of when he should rely on his wrestling more often.

Going against Holland will be one of those times. Holland hasn't had enough time to improve his takedown defense, and this could just be a rerun of his run-in with Brunson.

Prediction: Vettori via decision.

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

Arnold Allen's UFC career has been a slow burn to this point. The Englishman debuted in the UFC in 2015 when he was just 21 years old and has yet to lose in the UFC, but relative inactivity has prevented him from rising up the rankings too far.

Sodiq Yusuff has been slowed a bit by inactivity as well. He's 4-0 since coming to the UFC from Dana White's Contender Series in December 2018. However, he's been away from the Octagon for over a year after pulling out of a fight against Edson Barboza in October 2020.

The result is a matchup of two really talented prospects looking to get some momentum going.

Allen is a grappler by nature with enough boxing to hold his own on the feet. Yusuff is a perfect counterpoint. His biggest assets are his speed and power in the standup department, and he doesn't initiate grappling but does well enough to stay upright most of the time.

Yusuff is a strong starter, but Allen has the better gas tank. Expect this one to be a back-and-forth affair in which the second round is the tipping point. Yusuff should win the first round, but Allen will have the opportunity to enforce his game plan as Yusuff's output tapers.

If that doesn't happen until the third, Allen could run out of time. But if he's able to sap some of that energy early by forcing the grappling, it could set up a decision win even if he loses the first round.

Prediction: Allen via decision.

Leo Correa/Associated Press

Nina Nunes (formerly Nina Ansaroff) makes her return to the cage since giving birth to her and wife Amanda Nunes' first daughter in September 2020. Her last bout was a decision loss to Tatiana Suarez in June 2019.

Before her maternity leave, Nunes was putting together the best run of her career. A win over Claudia Gadelha gave her a four-fight win streak, and a loss to Suarez is understandable. She's undefeated and hasn't fought since.

The primary question for Nunes in this spot is if she can still capture the form she was in before the break. At 35 years old, those layoffs can be harder to come back from.

Mackenzie Dern—on the other hand—is still progressing as a fighter. The 28-year-old had a busy 2020 racking up three straight wins over Hannah Cifers, Randa Markos and Virna Jandiroba.

The question, as is often the case in Dern fights, is how she handles the moments where the fight is on the feet. Her kickboxing has improved since making her UFC debut in 2018, but it's still largely unpolished, and Nunes has enough to certainly outpoint her across three rounds.

But Dern's submission game is still dangerous as ever. She isn't a takedown master by any stretch but her fights generally find a way to the ground. When she's there, she holds a big advantage over Nunes.

Prediction: Dern via second-round submission.

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