
Modestas Bukauskas faces Christian Edwards at UFC Fight Night 276 in Las Vegas. Bukauskas seeks to rebound from a recent loss, while Edwards makes his UFC debut on short notice.
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Modestas Bukauskas and Christian Edwards meet on the UFC Fight Night 276 main card Saturday at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
Bukauskas (19-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) will aim to get back on track after a third-round stoppage loss to Nikita Krylov in January. That setback ended a four-fight winning streak thatt included stoppages of Marcin Prachnio, Raffael Cerqueira and Paul Craig.
Edwards (8-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut on super short notice as a replacement. His last fight was a second-round TKO win under the Shamrock FC banner in February.
Filling out the main card is an impromptu catchweight bout between Modestas Bukauskas and Christian Edwards.
Bukauskas, who was initially slated to face Rodolfo Bellato at 205 pounds, will now serve as the welcome wagon to a short-notice regional prospect in Edwards.
Edwards, who was hailed as "the next Jon Jones" at one point, is an athletic Jackson-Wink product who knows how to strike and wrestle from both stances. But even with a full camp, Edwards has shown a lack of staying power and composure that you'd like to see for his development.
Don't get me wrong: Bukauskas is another light heavyweight with a habit of spontaneous combustion, but the Baltic fighter carries superior fundamentals and experience.
I'll pick Buskauskas to survive the initial storm and secure a stoppage in by the end of Round 2.
The oddsmakers and the public favor the Lithuanian fighter, listing Bukauskas -325 and Edwards +220 via FanDuel.
Bukauskas and Edwards are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 8:40 p.m. ET. The fight streams live on Paramount+.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Vegas 117: Modestas Bukauskas vs. Christian Edwards prediction, pick
Modestas Bukauskas has a recent record of 19 wins and 7 losses, with his last fight ending in a third-round stoppage loss.
Christian Edwards is making his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 276 after a second-round TKO win in February, stepping in on short notice.
UFC Fight Night 276 is crucial for Bukauskas as he aims to recover from a recent loss and improve his UFC record of 7-5.

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