Preview: UFC Vegas 104 ‘Vettori vs. Dolidze 2’

Bantamweights

Da’Mon Blackshear (15-7-1, 3-3-1 UFC) vs. Cody Gibson (21-10, 3-5 UFC)

ODDS: Blackshear (-455), Gibson (+350)

Blackshear has been consistently inconsistent, but that has made for some entertaining fights. On the regional scene and early in his UFC career, “Da Monster” fought with a scramble-heavy focus that was enough to outlast opponents outside the UFC but got him a bit stuck against better opposition. Blackshear seemed to put things together for a few months in 2023, as he beat Luan Lacerda, took a quick turnaround to find a rare twister submission on Jose Johnson and then took a one-week turnaround to lose a hard-fought effort against Mario Bautista. However, that brief bit of momentum now seems to be gone. Blackshear’s next fight after nearly a year off saw him get immediately starched by Montel Jackson, though on the positive side, he was able to rebound with a quick near-knockout and submission of Cody Stamann. Blackshear gets another tough veteran here in Gibson, who has been surprisingly successful the past few months.

Gibson had a brief stint with the UFC about a decade ago, losing three out of four fights against a level of competition that looks much tougher in retrospect. It made for a nice story when Gibson made his way back to the big stage through “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2023, though there was a clear worry that his UFC return would be a bit of a struggle. Gibson has historically gotten by on pace and aggression, but he isn’t much of an athlete, leading to his hitting a wall and tiring himself out against a certain level of competition. Gibson’s comeback did indeed have a rough start, but he was able to outwork Brian Kelleher and Chad Anheliger for two straight wins. However, it looks like that’s just setting him up to run into his ceiling once again opposite Blackshear, who’s the more potent fighter along with having the grappling chops to hang with Gibson from the jump. The pick is Blackshear via second-round submission.

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Vettori vs. Dolidze
Zaleski dos Santos vs. Njokuani
Vallejos vs. Choi
Hernandez vs. Holobaugh
Blackshear vs. Gibson
You vs. Cunningham
The Prelims