The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday slides back into the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with UFC Fight Night 251, and it provides a decent preliminary slate. Angela Hill returns to action in the featured spot, as the women’s strawweight stalwart takes on Ketlen Souza—the latest 115-pound hopeful to try to use the former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder as a steppingstone to contention. However, the best bout of the bunch might be the intriguing welterweight affair between Gabriel Bonfim and Kalinn Williams, which should end violently at some point. Beyond that, high-upside bantamweight prospect Elijah Smith makes his promotional debut, and ranked women’s bantamweights clash in a well-matched battle pitting Julia Avila against Jacqueline Cavalcanti.
Now to the preview for the UFC Vegas 102 prelims:
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Women’s Strawweights
Angela Hill (17-14, 12-14 UFC) vs. Ketlen Souza (15-4, 2-1 UFC)ODDS: Hill (-112), Souza (-108)
Back on gatekeeper duty for this fight, Hill chugs along as the utility player for the UFC’s strawweight division. Hill got thrown to the wolves almost immediately upon starting her mixed martial arts career, winding up on “The Ultimate Fighter” after one career appearance and subsequently facing Tecia Pennington and Rose Namajunas. “Overkill” proved to be a quick study. She was released after the loss to Namajunas, only to rack up four wins inside of a year and punch her return ticket back to the UFC. Hill has since honed her craft over the subsequent eight years to the point that she’s a perennial tough out, even though she has never quite racked up the momentum to truly get into the title picture. She just isn’t the level of athlete or finisher to put on a lot of dominant performances, and she has shown a singularly amazing knack for being on the losing end of close decisions just as her career has needed it the most. Even so, Hill continues to improve—she earned her first submission win over Luana Pinheiro in 2024—and fill in wherever the UFC needs her, whether that’s being one-half of a UFC Fight Night main event against a fellow established veteran or simply testing the next prospect coming up the ranks. This bout against Souza is clearly the latter, as the Brazilian comes off a surprising breakout win over Yazmin Jauregui in September.
Souza had a bit of hype thanks to a solid winning streak ahead of her UFC arrival in 2023, but her career inside the Octagon got off to a disappointing start. Karine Silva quickly shredded Souza’s knee in her UFC debut, and her comeback fight against Marnic Mann was an unimpressive decision victory against a completely overmatched opponent. Souza’s bout against Jauregui seemed set up to be a clear victory for her counterpart. That was until Jauregui’s historical problems came home to roost. Jauregui tends to start cold and get caught early, and Souza did just that in stunning the Mexican prospect and quickly jumping on a submission. That shows how dangerous Souza can be at her best, but this is a challenge Hill has passed many times before. It was only a year and a half ago that Denise Gomes, another Brazilian coming off a similar win against Jauregui, was matched against Hill and quickly ran out of ideas. The pick is Hill via decision.
Jump To »
Hill vs. Souza
Gordon vs. Ruziboev
Estevam vs. Aguilar
Bonfim vs. Williams
Smith vs. Morales
Walker vs. Mayes
Cavalcanti vs. Avila/a>
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