UFC Vegas 56 Predictions: Main Card, Prelims, Analysis, Best Odds

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns with another Fight Card that will include some legendary names as well as rising stars in Mixed Martial Arts. Here are our UFC Vegas 56 predictions for the most important Prelims and Main Card bouts.

UFC Vegas 56 Prelims Predictions

Niklas Stolze vs Benoit Saint Denis

A good chance for Benoit to get an important and spectacular victory in the UFC. Stolze is not UFC level. The German will not be able to counter the opponent's takedowns and will regularly find himself on the ground in the bottom position.

Previously, Niklas has demonstrated that he has some BJJ skills. He defeated five opponents by submission. But these rivals were, to put it mildly, mediocre. I doubt that Niklas' BJJ will work against an experienced wrestler.

When Benoit is on the ground, he will look for an opportunity to submit his opponent quickly. Only a lucky punch can help Niklas in this fight.

Joe Solecki vs Alex Da Silva:

Alex da Silva is a mediocre fighter and the fight against Solecki is stylistically uncomfortable for him. If the Brazilian launches Joe on the ground, then most likely he will make a stupid mistake and give himself up to a painful hold.

Alex does not have impressive physical strength and it will be difficult for him to stop his opponent's takedowns. We expect this match to be a quick one and no more than a round – round and a half long.

Felice Herrig vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz:

I doubt that Felice Herrig will take revenge on Kowalkiewicz. She has not fought in almost two years. It is not known in what form she will enter the battle.

Yes, Kowalkiewicz is going through a rapid decline in her career, but I think she will have enough strength and technique to defeat the mediocre Herrig again.

In the standing position, Karolina will be much stronger than her opponent: she is faster and more technical. Work at medium and long distances will bring her points. I doubt that Herrig will be able to carry out effective takedowns. The girl has problems with the implementation of transfers, and Kowalkiewicz has a good defense.

UFC Vegas 56 Volkov vs Rozenstruik: Main Card Predictions

Ode' Osbourne vs Zarrukh Adashev

Osbourne is the favorite in this fight and most likely will win ahead of time. A significant difference in size is immediately noticeable. Ode is 15 cm taller than his opponent and outperforms him in arm span by 28 cm. The advantage in reach will allow Osborne to control the distance and impose his own pace of the fight.

While Adashev will unsuccessfully shorten the distance, Ode will hit him from different angles with kicks and punches. Considering that Osborne has extreme power, Zarrukh will feel the damage and will be, if not in a clean knockout, then in a knockdown, where the American will quickly finish him.

Zarrukh's only chance to win is to cut down the opponent with a tight punch. He also has a strong punch and a serious will to win.

Alonzo Menifield vs Askar Mozharov:

Alonzo is an extremely unstable and low-level fighter to pick as a favorite. Even the old Ovince Saint Preux knocked him out, so I would prefer to choose the powerful Askar Mozharov. The advantage of a Ukrainian is that he will fight in a variety of ways.

With his kicks, he will regularly bring down the pace and cardio of the opponent, and his powerful punches will cause a lot of damage to Menifield. Most likely, the debutant will win ahead of schedule and receive an award for the performance of the evening.

Michael Trizano vs Lucas Almeida

Trizano breaks down quickly when under pressure and will have a hard time against Almeida. The Brazilian quickly approaches the opponent and unleashes explosive attacks with a barrage of powerful punches, each one having the strength to knock out a fighter.

Lucas will apply constant pressure and cause Mike to back up to the net. Considering how Trizano performed in his fights against the aggressive Dawson and Davodu, I expect that Almeida will find the knockout before the end of the fight.

Dan Ige vs Movsar Evloev

Dan Ige may be on the decline but it is not normal for him to be such an underdog against an opponent that is even behind him in the rankings. If you look at how Movsar fought fights in the UFC, you can see that in almost all fights he gave 1 round. Dan Ige is a level above the rest of Evloev's opposition in the UFC and if Movsar gives up the lead, he may not get it back.

On their feet, the advantage will be on Dan's side. Although he is monotonous, he is more technical than Movsar. Ige will be able to break the opponent and deal damage. I doubt that Dan will find a one-punch knockout, but he can definitely get a technical knockout with a good combination.

Alexander Volkov vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik

Alexander Volkov's strongest years are in the past while Rozenstruik still has a future in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. His cardio is much better than Volkov, who always seems tired in longer fights.

Rozenstruik has a destructive punch and one hit can be enough for a knockout. With his endurance, he can easily take the fight to distance but we expect to see a quick main event and Rozenstruik should be able to win it ahead of time.

Volkov might stand a chance if he has improved on his cardio. In his last two fights, he had a terrible form and it is no surprise that he lost to Tom Aspinall in the first round. He has been on a decline since 2018 and lost 4 out of his last 8 fights.

Check out our in-depth analysis of the main event fight here.