Jared Vanderaa

ANALYSIS
The 30-year-old Vanderaa will look to put an end to a four-fight losing streak later this month when he takes on Cortes-Acosta, who will be making his UFC debut. Since making his promotional debut in February 2021, Vanderaa owns a 1-5-0 record overall as a member of the UFC.

ANALYSIS
It appears to be a near certainty that the loser of this fight will be given his walking papers, and unfortunately for Vanderaa, it's him. Facing an opponent who entered having lost four fights in a row, Vanderaa and Sherman fought to relatively even terms nearly the entire fight. It was sloppy, as expected, and only got worse as the bout progressed. Vanderaa's gas tank finally appear to hit empty midway through Round 3, and that allowed Sherman to unload with countless power strikes before referee Mark Smith had seen enough. The fact Vanderaa entered as a -230 favorite was directly tied to Sherman's recent struggles as opposed to anything Jared had done. The 30-year-old California native has lost four in a row and five of six dating back to February 2021.

ANALYSIS
Vanderaa saw a bit of success early in his UFC run, but he's now lost three fights in a row and could very well be on the roster chopping block here. On the bright side, he finds himself as approximately a (-195) betting favorite against Sherman, a fighter who has dropped four consecutive fights and absorbs an astounding 6.32 significant strikes per minute (over a noteworthy sample size to boot). Vanderaa will also find himself with a two-inch reach advantage when the cage doors close, which could prove useful in fending off the patented bull rushes of Sherman.

ANALYSIS
Why in the world Vanderaa would engage an opponent who entered the evening with 46 submission victories on his resume in a ground battle is anyone's guess. Blessed with a significant power and speed edge, Jared did fine in the striking exchanges between the two men, but he willingly rolled around with Oleinik on the mat despite having multiple opportunities to return to the feet. He survived for a while before Oleinik eventually grabbed a hold of his neck and closed the show. It was a mistake that could potentially cost Vanderaa his job, as he has now lost three in a row and four of his last five dating back to February 2021.

ANALYSIS
Vanderaa will be stepping in for Illir Latifi who had to withdraw for an undisclosed reason. Vanderaa is coming off a split decision loss to Andrei Arlovski back at UFC 271.