Preview: UFC Mexico Prelims

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday will venture South of the Border for the first time in more than a year when UFC on ESPN 64 brings an undercard with expected Mexican flavor to Arena CDMX in Mexico City. Flyweights Edgar Chairez and C.J. Vergara collide in the featured spot, though the most intriguing bout of the bunch sees Christian Rodriguez and Melquizael Costa take on quick turnarounds in a well-matched featherweight scrap. Meanwhile, ranked women’s strawweight Lupita Godinez gets a step back in competition against Julia Polastri, and Rafa Garcia faces Vinc Pichel in a battle of lightweight veterans.

Now to the preview for the UFC on ESPN 64 prelims:

Flyweights

Edgar Chairez (11-6, 1-2 UFC) vs. C.J. Vergara (12-6-1, 3-4 UFC)

ODDS: Chairez (-278), Vergara (+225)

Flyweight gatekeepers square off in this interesting matchup. Chairez didn’t stand out as a must-have signing when the UFC picked him up in 2023—a Dana White’s Contender Series loss the year prior was one of a few missteps “Puro Chicali” had along the way—but he has proven to be sneaky tough, more so than his record suggests. Chairez is large for the division and uses that frame well, throwing out big single shots from range that can cause some damage on their own but also lead his opponents to try and close ranks, at which point he has proven to be an effective grappler. That’s only resulted in one UFC victory thus far against the perennially flammable Daniel Lacerda, but Chairez has done well to drag tough fights out of top prospects Tatsuro Taira and Joshua Van. Chairez looks to rebound from the Van loss against Vergara, who seems to be at a bit of a crossroads. Vergara initially carved out his own niche as a prospect-tester. Not an explosive athlete, he was content to pressure his opponents and rely on his durability in the hopes that he could either swarm them early or outlast them late. That worked solidly enough, but in recent years, Vergara has pivoted to a more passive style that hasn’t really pressed the issue. It’s hard to say it has cost him much, since losses to Asu Almabayev and Ramazan Temirov were likely to happen anyway, but that could become an issue in closer fights on paper, like this one. Chairez will likely wind up picking him apart at range, which could cause Vergara to pivot back to his old form and turn this into a fun grappling match. Either way, the pick is Chairez via decision.

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Chairez vs. Vergara
Gautier vs. Medina
Rodriguez vs. Costa
Godinez vs. Polastri
Garcia vs. Pichel
Emmers vs. Miranda
Mederos vs. Hubbard