FS1 Prelims
Brandon Thatch (11-3) vs.Siyar Bahadurzada (21-6-1)
Initially planned for the Feb. 21 UFC Fight Night card in Pittsburgh, Thatch and Bahadurzada will instead fight Saturday in Las Vegas. According to the UFC, Thatch is using a medication permitted under the UFC/USADA, WADA and Nevada State Athletic Commission anti-doping rules, but was unable to get the necessary clearance from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, leading to the postponement. Thatch will be looking to record his first win in 16 months, as after scoring back-to-back wins in his first UFC appearances, “Rukus” tapped to Ben Henderson and Gunnar Nelson in subsequent bouts. Bahadurzada is 1-2 under the UFC banner, recently suffering consecutive decision losses to Dong Hyun Kim and John Howard.
Prediction: Brandon Thatch gets back on the winning track with a decision victory on Saturday.
