Preview: UFC 318 Prelims

Welterweights

Francisco Prado (12-3, 1-3 UFC) vs. Nikolay Veretennikov (12-6, 0-2 UFC)

BETTING ODDS: Prado (-148), Veretennikov (+124)

Prado came to the UFC at 20 years old and fit the mold of the typical Argentinian prospect. That circuit has some high-end physical talent like Prado but not much depth, so his usual approach of pressuring forward and hunting for the knockout had yet to be tested. Prado’s UFC career was a mixed bag for the first two years—he was more consistently entertaining than successful—and a move up to welterweight in February was a surprise. Prado was having trouble as a stocky fighter even at lightweight, so he’s not necessarily built for 170 pounds. Prado looks for his first UFC win up at welterweight against Kazakhstan’s Veretennikov, who’s still in search of a breakout performance.



Veretennikov is a solid if unspectacular jack of all trades and master of none, with his high-level fights mostly serving to expose his weaknesses. His Contender Series loss against Michael Morales in 2021 is understandable in hindsight, but since Veretennikov earned his way to the UFC roster, he has gotten stifled in two different ways. He never turned up the pace against a rangy knockout threat in Danny Barlow, then got consistently outwrestled by Austin Vanderford. Prado doesn’t offer either of those challenges, so this could finally be the fight where Veretennikov can stay ahead of an opponent. With that said, the Argentinian looks like the much safer bet at this point. The pick is Prado via decision.

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