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USA Today Sports Media Group

Sport

Matt Erickson

UFC Fight Night 232: How to watch Brendan Allen vs. Paul Craig, start time, Las Vegas lineup, odds, more

UFC Paul Craig Brendan Allen Las Vegas Rafael Estevam UFC Fight Night 232 UFC Fight Night Caio Machado Cesar Almeida Jake Matthews

The UFC is back in its Las Vegas home base with middleweight contenders at the top of the lineup in “Sin City.”

Here’s how to watch UFC Fight Night 232 with 185-pound standouts in action.

Broadcast and streaming info

Brendan Fitzgerald, Paul Felder, Michael Bisping

UFC Fight Night 232 has a main card that begins at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The prelims stream on ESPN+, as well, beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

Main event: Brendan Allen

Jun 24, 2023; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Brendan Allen (red gloves) celebrates after he defeats Bruno Silva (blue gloves) in a middleweight bout during UFC Fight Night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports

Brendan Allen (22-5 MMA, 10-2 UFC) comes into his second main event of 2023 with five straight wins, including four by rear-naked choke. That might come in handy against Paul Craig, who has shown a propensity for submission wins. In his current run, Allen has submissions of Sam Alvey, Krzysztof Jotko, Andre Muniz and, in June, Bruno Silva, to go along with a decision over Jacob Malkoun.

Main event: Paul Craig

Jul 22, 2023; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Paul Craig (red gloves) reacts to defeating Andre Muniz (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports

For the first time, Scottish finishing machine Paul Craig (17-6-1 MMA, 9-6-1 UFC) gets to headline a UFC event. After a 5-0-1 run at light heavyweight was halted by losses to Volkan Oezdemir and Johnny Walker, Craig dropped to middleweight and finished Andre Muniz in July for a $50,000 bonus.

Co-main event: Jake Matthews vs. Michael Morales

Jul 29, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Jake Matthews (red gloves) reacts to defeating Darrius Flowers (blue gloves) during UFC 291 at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

Jake Matthews (19-6 MMA, 12-6 UFC) has alternated wins and losses his past five fights, but will go after his first winning streak since 2020 when he meets Michael Morales (15-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at welterweight. Matthews submitted Darrius Flowers in July to get back in the win column after a decision loss to Matthew Semelsberger 11 months ago.

Michael Morales vs. Max Griffin, UFC on ESPN 47

Morales, nearly a 3-1 betting favorite in the fight, will put his unbeaten record on the line against Australia’s Matthews. He has 12 finishes in 15 fights, including 11 knockouts. He got to the UFC courtesy of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021 and has taken out Trevin Giles and Adam Fugitt in 2022 and outworked Max Griffin in July.

UFC debut: Payton Talbott

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 08: (L-R) Payton Talbott punches Reyes Cortez Jr. in a bantamweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season seven, week one at UFC APEX on August 08, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC)

Payton Talbott (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will make his UFC debut on the heels of a bantamweight win on Dana White’s Contender Series in August. It was the first time Talbott went the distance in a fight after five knockouts to start his career. Saturday, he’ll take on Nick Aguirre (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in his official UFC debut.

UFC debut: Caio Machado

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 08: Caio Machado of Brazil reacts after his victory over Kevin Szaflarski of Austria in a heavyweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season seven, week one at UFC APEX on August 08, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC)

Canada-based Brazilian Caio Machado (8-1-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) made his mark on Dana White’s Contender Series in August. Now the 29-year-old heavyweight has a shot against vs. Mick Parkin (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who will put his unbeaten record on the line on the prelims. Machado is the third biggest underdog on the card.

UFC debut: Rafael Estevam

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 27: Rafael Estevam of Brazil reacts after his victory over Joao Elias of Brazil in a flyweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season six, week ten at UFC APEX on September 27, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Rafael Estevam (11-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) finally will make his UFC debut when he takes on Charles Johnson (13-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC) at flyweight to open the event. Estevam picked up a second-round TKO win on Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2022. He was set to debut in April, but an injury to Carlos Candelario forced him out. Two weeks later, Estevam had a bad weight cut for Zhalgas Zhumagulov and the fight was canceled.