UFC Vegas 108 fight week continues. After two months on the road, Dana White’s promotion comes back home to Nevada for the first of four straight Saturdays of action inside the fabled Octagon at the UFC Apex facility.
Live coverage of UFC Vegas 108 begins with the undercard Saturday evening at 6 pm ET/ 3 pm PT on ESPN and ESPN+ if you’re inside the United States. Canadian viewers can watch this weekend’s show via Sportsnet.
Main card action follows at 9 pm ET/ 6 pm PT on the Disney-owned cabler and streaming platforms. Should there be no adjustments to the schedule of events between now and Saturday, the final version of UFC Vegas 108 will feature a slate of 12 fights from the No. 1 MMA promotion on the planet.
October 12, 2024, Las Vegas, Nv, Las Vegas, Nv, United States: Brandon Royval and Tatsuro Taira meet in the octagon for a 3-round bout at UFC Apex for UFC Fight Night – Royval vs Taira on October 12, 2024 in Las Vegas, NV, United States. /PxImages Las Vegas, Nv United States – ZUMAp175 20241012_zsa_p175_434 Copyright: xLouisxGrassex
UFC Vegas 108 Main Event: No. 6 Contender Tatsuro Taira vs. HyunSung Park
At the top of the bill on Saturday night, you’ll be treated to a flyweight bout when No. 6 contender Tatsuro Taira (16-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) squares off against HyunSung Park (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC.) This main event will be an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close out the show.
Taira enters the weekend having posted a record of 4-1 in his last five fights. Last time out, he saw a 16-fight winning streak to begin his professional career snapped (split decision) at the hands of Brandon Royval (17-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC.)
Park wasn’t originally supposed to have been Taira’s original adversary for UFC Vegas 108. Initially, he was scheduled to fight Amir Albazi until the latter had to withdraw upon not gaining medical authorization to compete.
“I finished my whole training camp and did everything I could,” Albazi began, “but I wasn’t medically cleared in time. The UFC and the commission made the call for my safety. I respect their decision even though I wanted to step into that cage and take care of business.”
Taira just found out about the change in opponent earlier this week, but how has he been able to adjust as fight night draws closer?
Meanwhile, HyunSung Park will become the first alumnus of the Road to UFC competition to main event a UFC Fight Night this Saturday at UFC Vegas 108, something touted by the UFC on its social media channels of late. He’s yet to lose as a professional.
On May 17, he finished Carlos Hernandez (10-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) with a rear-naked choke inside the opening round at the Apex in Enterprise. He was already slated to fight in August. Ahead of Amir Albazi not being medically cleared for UFC Vegas 108, Park and Steve Erceg were to fight next weekend at the same facility.
Now, the stakes are higher for HyunSung Park. A win here would build his resume and result in a number next to his name as soon as Monday morning.
UFC Vegas 108 Co-Main Event: Mateusz Rebecki vs. Chris Duncan
Immediately beforehand, the UFC Vegas 108 co-main event happens at lightweight. Mateusz Rebecki (20-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC), a 2022 alum of Contender Series, sets foot inside the Octagon to fight Chris Duncan (13-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC.) It’ll be a three-round fight at five minutes per round.
Rebecki will be making the walk this Saturday night with a record of 4-1 in his last five fights dating back to January of 2023. Last October, he scored a split decision win over Myktybek Orolbai (14-2-1 MMA. 3-1 UFC) after three rounds of action in UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
He’s had nine months between fights. Thus, the age-old question of ring rust is asked again. What has Rebecki done to shake the ring rust off?
Across the way, Chris Duncan is sporting a 4-1 mark of his own over the course of his last five fights. Currently, he’s on a two-fight winning streak.
Back on March 22, he stopped Jordan Vucenic (13-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) with a second-round submission by way of guillotine choke. It was the second guillotine choke submission in as many fights for Duncan. Can he add another stoppage to his resume this time?
UFC Vegas 108: Elves Brener vs. Esteban Ribovics
Also on UFC Vegas 108 on Saturday night, you’ll see action in the lightweight division. Elves Brener (16-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) clashes with Esteban Ribovics (14-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC.) The former has a mark of 3-2 in his last five fights.
He’s been on a downward trend of late, losing two fights in succession. Last year at this time, he was on the losing end of a third-round knockout from Joel Alvarez (22-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC.)
A planned fight between Brener and Daniel Zellhuber in Mexico City at the end of March was scrapped after Elves Brener withdrew from the show. With Brener having been on the shelf for a year, expect him to fight with frustration over the weekend.
In the other corner, Esteban Ribovics is 3-2 over the course of his five most recent contests. On March 1, he saw a three-fight winning streak end with a split decision defeat to Nasrat Haqparast (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC.)
Each time that Ribovics has lost in his career, he’s followed the defeat up with a victory the next time out. Will history repeat itself again?
Final Thoughts
Which main card fight or fights are you looking forward to on UFC Vegas 108? Let us know in the comments.