Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is just one day away from the upcoming UFC Vegas 113 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, which is set to go down tomorrow night (Sat., Feb. 7, 2026) on Paramount+ from inside Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC Vegas 113 features a bantamweight main event between 135-pound standouts Mario Bautista and Vinicius Oliveira, a five-round showdown that could shake up the division Top 10.
Before we dive into the main and co-main events, which include the flyweight collision between No. 6-ranked Amir Albazi and No. 8-ranked Kyoji Horiguchi, check out Andrew Richardson’s “X-Factor” breakdown for the rest of the UFC Vegas 113 main card by clicking here. Get all the latest “Bautista vs. Oliveira” odds and betting props courtesy of FanDuel right here.
Advertisement
135 lbs.: Mario Bautista vs. Vinicius Oliveira
Mario Bautista
Record: 16-3 | Age: 32 | Betting line: -155
Wins: 3 KO/TKO, 6 SUB, 7 DEC | Losses: 1 KO/TKO, 1 SUB, 1 DEC
Height: 5’9” | Reach: 69” | Stance: Switch
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 5.58 | Striking accuracy: 48%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 4.19 | Striking Defense: 55%
Takedown Average: 1.48 (32% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 54%
Current Ranking: No. 9 | Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov
Vinicius “LokDog” Oliveira
Record: 23-3 | Age: 30 | Betting line: +130
Wins: 16 KO/TKO, 2 SUB, 5 DEC | Losses: 3 KO/TKO, 0 SUB, 0 DEC
Height: 5’9“ | Reach: 70” | Stance: Switch
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 5.28 | Striking accuracy: 43%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 2.89 | Striking Defense: 57%
Takedown Average: 1.67 (50% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 80%
Current Ranking: No. 11 | Last fight: Unanimous decision win over Kyler Phillips
Mario Bautista is currently ranked No. 9 in the division, which feels a little low based on his body of work over the last five years, but the middle of the bantamweight rankings is filled with solid competitors who could all very easily be one or two victories away from the Top 5. Bautista recently had his eight-fight win streak snapped by No. 2-ranked Umar Nurmagomedov in a fight that saw both fighters combine for just 52 significant strikes, 32 of them from Nurmagomedov, which should tell you everything you need to know about their wrestle-fest (Bautista was taken down 11 times in three rounds). It’s been three years since Bautista finished a fight and he’s not exactly the world’s best trash talker, which is probably why the Arizonan continues to get lost in the shuffle. That said, he’s a complete fighter with above-average skills in every discipline, he just doesn’t have one-punch knockout power. Bautista compensates for that deficit with a measured attack and punishing leg kicks that systematically break down his opponents.
Advertisement
“What made me realize is I belong at the very top,” Bautista said about the Nurmagomedov loss at the UFC Vegas 113 media day. “Everyone thinks that Umar can be a champion and probably will be a champion, and I gave him a pretty tough fight. I’ll definitely look for the finish (against Oliveira). I think he’s lost like three times by knockout. He’s a live-by-the-sword-and-die-by-the-sword type of guy. I’m definitely looking for that. I’m completely focused on Vinicius right now, but if everything goes good, I want to get back into the Top 5. One [fight] I’ve always wanted for a while was that Sandhagen rematch. I lost my debut, and I chased him all the way down to the very top, so I think that would be a great story.”
Vinicius Oliveira is ranked two spots below Bautista at No. 11 and appears to be everything Bautista isn’t. The Brazilian is muscular and flashy, scoring 16 knockouts in 23 wins. That includes his one-hitter quitter over Victor Madrigal as part of Dana White’s “Contender Series” back in late 2023, followed by a flying knee knockout against Bernardo Sopai at UFC Vegas 87 roughly two years back. Then the competition got a little stiffer and the finishes went away. Oliveira is still undefeated under the UFC banner but his last three fights have all gone to the judges’ scorecards. That includes his UFC 318 victory over Kyler Phillips, which is worth noting because Phillips won the first round and was training with Bautista at MMA Lab ahead of the fight. Now, Philips is returning the favor after spending 15 minutes with Oliveira inside the Octagon. “LokDog” definitely has the power to end this contest early, but I think the longer the fight drags on, the harder it’s going to be for Oliveira to maintain his output — one of the downsides to carrying a big, muscular frame.
“I think the UFC made a good choice, a good matchup because he’s a boring fighter and I think UFC wanted to put him out,” Oliveira said at the UFC Vegas 113 media day. “They put me here for the chance to put him out. For sure I’m going to, in the first round. I will be myself, I will be my all. I will be the same ‘LokDog’ as ever and the same style. I’m trying to move forward inside the cage every single second. I’m looking for the TKO in the first round every time. I will have the same ‘Lok Dog’ style. I see myself by the end of the year fighting for the belt for sure. But before that, I’m going to fight against a Top 5. I’m going to put on a great performance to the audience, and then in the middle of the year I’m going to fight against a top five in the rankings. I’ve got some names in my mind, two names I would like to fight at the White House.”
Skill-for-skill, Bautista is the better fighter. He will remain in danger for the first half of the fight, but I expect a smart gameplan and distance striking to both frustrate and break down the Brazilian over time. By the fourth round, Oliveira — who cut 30 pounds to make the bantamweight limit — will be favoring his lead leg and sucking wind.
Advertisement
A late finish would not surprise me.
Prediction: Bautista def. Oliveira by technical knockout
125 lbs.: Amir Albazi vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
Amir “The Prince” Albazi
Record: 17-2 | Age: 32 | Betting line: +280
Wins: 5 KO/TKO, 9 SUB, 3 DEC | Losses: 0 KO/TKO, 0 SUB, 2 DEC
Height: 5’5“ | Reach: 68” | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 2.72 | Striking accuracy: 34%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 3.71 | Striking Defense: 61%
Takedown Average: 1.39 (32% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 50%
Current Ranking: No. 6 | Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Brandon Moreno
Advertisement
Kyoto “Karate Kid” Horiguchi
Record: 35-5, 1 NC | Age: 35 | Betting line: -355
Wins: 15 KO/TKO, 6 SUB, 14 DEC | Losses: 2 KO/TKO, 1 SUB, 2 DEC
Height: 5’4“ | Reach: 63” | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 3.64 | Striking accuracy: 46%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 2.26 | Striking Defense: 62%
Takedown Average: 1.80 (42% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 54%
Current Ranking: No. 8 | Last fight: Submission win over Tagir Ulanbekov
I was shocked when UFC let Kyoto Horiguchi walk back in late 2016. The “Karate Kid” had a 7-1 UFC record with his only loss coming against Demetrious Johnson, one of the all-time greats. After cleaning up on the International circuit, Horiguchi returned and picked up right where he left off, taking out the venerable Tagir Ulanbekov by way of third round submission. That temporarily settled the debate over Horiguchi’s age and mileage, which will continue to be a talking point since he’s fast-approaching his 36th birthday. Offensively, Horiguchi can do it all — and do it all well. I’m not sure there is anything Albazi can throw at the Japanese phenom — who has 21 finishes in 35 wins — that he hasn’t already seen (and overcome) before.
“I’m happy because the Octagon is my dream,” Horiguchi said at the UFC Vegas 113 media day. “I feel really good. I’m really excited because the fight is soon. I generally don’t start studying or watching videos of the opponent until the matchup is made, so after I was notified, I started to learn about him, and I thought he was a good fighter. I believe it’s going to be a very exciting fight. I can show that overall, I am much better than him. A title shot [is all] I want!”
Amir Albazi has not competed since his five-round ass whooping at the hands of Brandon Moreno, a fight that came on the heels of two major medical setbacks for “The Prince” — one of which was heart surgery. Albazi was expected to make his return the following summer but once again got benched after physicians ruled him medically unfit to compete. UFC left him in the rankings anyway where he currently sits at No. 6 and I’m sure the lopsided betting line is a reflection of Albazi’s absence and recurring medical issues. To be fair, even at full health a fight against Horiguchi would likely pit Albazi as the underdog and now he’s trying to recapture some of his former glory, which hasn’t been seen in several years. Stylistically, Albazi is a serviceable striker who paints by numbers until he can muscle his way into a grappling exchange where he typically shines. That may change against Horiguchi, himself a formidable grappler.
Advertisement
“I don’t know if it was ring rust, but I definitely think I underperformed in that [Moreno] fight, and I never got to show Amir Albazi, the real Amir Albazi, the original Amir Albazi,” Albazi said at the UFC Vegas 113 media day. “So I’m happy to be here to finally be able to show people that this is the real Amir Albazi, this is the problem in the division. I can’t wait to show you guys on Saturday. I’ve always been a bully whenever I go into the cage. I’m a nice guy outside, but whenever I go into the cage, I’m looking to damage people, I’m looking to bring violence. I’m looking to make violence nice again. I always bring that to the table, and I feel like that was lacking in the Moreno fight.”
I would expect a close first round but then Horiguchi is going to settle in and find his rhythm. That means Albazi is going to get busted up, forcing a grappling exchange. That’s when things are going to go from bad to worse.
Prediction: Horiguchi def. Albazi by submission
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the UFC Vegas 113 main card predictions RIGHT HERE.
