Preview: UFC Vegas 102 Prelims

Flyweights

Rafael Estevam (12-0, 1-0 UFC) vs. Jesus Santos Aguilar (11-2, 3-1 UFC)

ODDS: Estevam (-360), Aguilar (+285)

Estevam looked like a flyweight who could make some noise after earning a contract on the 2022 edition of Dana White’s Contender Series. Large for the division, the Brazilian leveraged that size well with an aggressive pressure game, usually focusing on overwhelming his opponents on the mat. Estevam could yet march his way up the ladder, but he’s sure taking his time doing so with only one fight in nearly two and a half years on the UFC roster. To his credit, that one fight was a wrestling-heavy victory over Charles Johnson that has aged well in the time since. Estevam finally gets back inside the cage against Mexico’s Aguilar, who lost a rough UFC debut to Tatsuro Taira early in 2023 but has since rebounded with three straight wins.

In contrast to Estevam, Aguilar is built like a bowling ball and has a fairly simple approach, throwing absolute heat to close distance and then diving on high-risk submissions. Aguilar has proven to have a lethal enough guillotine choke that his game works better than it probably should, but he has also hit a clear wall against opponents like Taira who can match his skills on the mat—a description that certainly seems to fit Estevam. The pick is Estevam via second-round submission.

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Estevam vs. Aguilar
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