UFC Vegas 78 Fight Card Preview, Odds & Schedule

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08 August 2023

UFC Vegas 78 Fight Card Preview, Odds & Schedule

After an exciting weekend in Nashville, is coming as UFC Vegas 78 takes place at the Apex on Saturday, August 12. The 13-fight card is set to be an exciting night that casual and die-hard combat sports enthusiasts alike won’t want to miss.

With so much to anticipate in Sin City this weekend, Betting News is making your life easier. Here’s a look at the full UFC Vegas 78 card, complete with the latest betting odds and all the event information you need to know.

UFC Vegas 78 Main Card and Odds (Odds via BetOnline as of Tuesday, August 8)

UFC Vegas 78 Main Event: Vicente Luque (+110) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (-130)

After being on the sidelines for over a year, Vicente Luque (31-9-1) makes his return Saturday night to take on former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos (32-14) at UFC Vegas 78.

Luque heads into this weekend’s festivities in unfamiliar territory. He began his UFC run with an impressive 14-3 record but has since lost back-to-back fights for the first time in his career.

The 31-year-old first lost to Belal Muhammad after five grueling rounds in April 2022 before suffering a third-round knockout loss to Geoff Neal less than four months later. Only time will tell if Luque has what it takes to rebound.

Meanwhile, dos Anjos hasn’t stepped in the octagon since last December. The 38-year-old veteran is now 3-1 in his last four fights after submitting Bryan Barberena in his welterweight return at UFC Orlando.

Having said that, dos Anjos lost four of five welterweight fights before his win over Barberena. In other words, it’ll be interesting to see if the victory was a fluke or a return to form.

UFC Vegas 78 Co-Main Event: Cub Swanson (+180) vs. Hakeem Dawodu (-210)

Cub Swanson (28-13) aims to get back on track when he faces the always-tough Hakeem Dawodu (13-3-1) in Las Vegas.

After losing four consecutive fights, Swanson is now 3-2 in his last five outings. Unfortunately, he’s struggled to maintain consistency lately, having been knocked out twice in three bouts leading up to this weekend’s co-main event.

At the same time, Dawodu has also picked up a pair of losses in his last three contests. He wound up missing weight before losing to Julian Erosa by unanimous decision at UFC 279, leaving all eyes on the 32-year-old to see if he can prove that he has more discipline this time around.

Light Heavyweight: Khalil Rountree Jr. (-173) vs. Chris Daukaus (+148)

Fans are in for some fireworks at UFC Vegas 78 when Khalil Roundtree Jr. (11-5, 1NC) and Chris Daukaus (12-6) engage in a light heavyweight showdown.

Roundtree heads into Saturday night in search of his fourth straight victory. The Los Angeles, California native has impressed during his current run, highlighted by two knockout victories over Modestas Bukauskas and Karl Roberson.

On the other side, Daukaus has been trending in the wrong direction. He’s lost three consecutive fights for the first time in his career and what’s even worse is that he was knocked out in each defeat.

Women’s Strawweight: Polyana Viana (+155) vs. Iasmin Lucindo (-180)

Polyana Viana (13-5) has the odds stacked against her when she takes on Iasmin Lucindo (14-5) at the Apex.

Despite the odds not being where she wants them, Viana has been building up some momentum. She’s 3-1 in her last four fights, most recently knocking out Jinh Yu Frey back in November to earn ‘performance of the night’ honors.

Saturday night also gives Lucindo a chance to prove her worth. After losing her UFC debut, she rebounded nicely with a unanimous decision win over Brogan Walker just over three months ago. She’ll need to string together another win if she hopes to make some noise.

Middleweight: A.J. Dobson (+110) vs. Tafon Nchukwi (-130)

One UFC Vegas 78 fight that could go either way is the middleweight clash between A.J. Dobson (6-2, 1NC) and Tafon Nchukwi (6-3).

After some solid work on Dana White’s Contender Series 2021, Dobson is in trouble. He’s coming off back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Jacob Malkoun and Armen Petrosyan, meaning he must win if he hopes to get his UFC career back on track.

Nchukwi isn’t in much better shape, though, being the loser in three of his last four bouts. Making matters worse is the fact that the 28-year-old was knocked out in his latest pair of outings.

Middleweight: Josh Fremd (-350) vs. Jamie Pickett (+285)

Josh Fremd (10-4) is the major favorite in his upcoming middleweight fight against Jamie Pickett (13-9).

Fremd’s UFC run didn’t start as planned, beginning with two straight losses. Fortunately for him, the dark days didn’t last too long as he broke out of his funk by submitting Sedriques Dumas with a guillotine choke at UFC Fight Night 221.

UFC Vegas 78 Preliminary Card and Odds

Bantamweight: JP Buys (+285) vs. Marcus McGhee (-360)

The UFC Vegas 78 prelims pit JP Buys (9-5) head-to-head against the red-hot Marcus McGhee (7-1).

Buys slumps into Las Vegas riding a three-fight losing streak, which includes two knockout losses. Meanwhile, McGhee’s mind is set on a fourth consecutive win after finishing each of his last three opponents (two by TKO, one by submission).

Lightweight: Terrance McKinney (-290) vs. Mike Breeden (+230)

Time will tell if Terrance McKinney (13-6) can put his losing ways in the rearview when he squares off with Mike Breeden (10-5) in the coming days.

McKinney is coming off back-to-back losses for the second time in his career, most recently losing to Nazim Sadykhov (via submission) less than a month ago. At the same time, Breeden has also lost two straight fights and is currently 0-3 at the UFC level.

Featherweight: Francis Marshall (-170) vs. Isaac Dulgarian (+145)

Francis Marshall (7-1) tries to return to the win column when he collides with the debuting Isaac Dulgarian (5-0).

After a 7-0 start to his MMA career, Marshall most recently came up short with a split-decision loss to William Gomis back in April. Standing in his way of a bounce-back performance is Dulgarian, who has finished each of his five first opponents thus far (three via KO/TKO, two via submission).

Heavyweight: Josh Parisian (+169) vs. Martin Buday (-194)

The heavyweight showdown between Josh Parisian (15-6) and Martin Buday (12-1) is shaping up to be one of the hardest-hitting fights on the UFC Vegas 78 card.

Parisian has alternated between wins and losses in his last six fights, most recently losing to Jamal Pogues (via points) in February. On the flip side, Buday extended his winning streak to 11 straight outings after fighting to a 4-0 record to begin his UFC career.

Women’s Strawweight: Jaqueline Amorim (-240) vs. Montserrat Ruiz (+205)

Jaqueline Amorim (6-1) is the clear-cut betting favorite over Montserrat Ruiz (10-2) at the Apex.

Amorim lost her debut at UFC 287, suffering a unanimous decision loss to Sam Hughes after three rounds. Ruiz, meanwhile, hasn’t stepped into the cage since a 35-second TKO loss to Amanda Lemos over two years ago.

Bantamweight: Da'Mon Blackshear (TBD) vs. Brady Hiestand (TBD)

At the time of writing, odds for the Da’Mon Blackshear (13-5-1) vs. Brady Hiestand (7-2) fight aren’t available yet.

Blackshear ended a two-fight winless streak by knocking out Luan Lacerda at UFC on ESPN 46. At the same time, Hiestand TKO’d Batgerel Danaa in his latest outing and has won three of his last four bouts.

Women’s Flyweight: Juliana Miller (+130) vs. Luana Santos (-150)

The last UFC Vegas 78 preliminary fight features Juliana Miller (3-2) scrapping with Luana Santos (5-1) in flyweight action.

After being victorious in her UFC debut, Miller couldn't build off that momentum, losing to Veronica Hardy via unanimous decision at UFC 286. Santos, on the other hand, is making her debut after back-to-back victories in the LFA.