The upcoming UFC event, scheduled for Saturday, January 13, at 4:00 PM ET for the prelims at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, showcases an intriguing lightweight clash between Tom Nolan and Nikolas Motta at UFC Fight Night 234. Nolan, a moderate moneyline favorite at -330, adds an extra layer of excitement to this anticipated battle.

Nolan is currently undefeated through six professional battles as he approaches his debut in the UFC. His most recent successful encounter was a first round knockout over Bogdan Grad back at Dana White’s Contender Series in August of last year.

Looking at his six wins so far, four have come by knockout and two are by decision. In addition, three of his knockouts have ended in the first round of action.

“Big Train” has primarily battled in the Eternal MMA fighting club, where he went 4-0 against solid competition. After performing well in his DWCS fight, he has a great opportunity to replicate that success in his debut with the UFC.

Nolan is currently ranked as the 143^rd-best lightweight fighter in the world. He also ranks as the fourth-best active professional lightweight from New Zealand and Australia. A win here would greatly boost his rank.

Motta has had mixed results since his first UFC battle back in 2022. He has gone 1-2 in three fights and his most recent battle resulted in a controversial no contest against Trey Ogden back at UFC Fight Night 232 in November of last year. The ref stopped the battle prematurely while Motta was on the verge of losing the fight by submission, where they later changed the outcome to a no contest.

Out of his 13 wins, nine have come by knockout and four have been by decision. In seven of his nine knockouts, they have resulted in first round finishes. He also has four of his five losses coming by knockout.

“Iron” has typically landed strikes with an accuracy of 31 percent. He does not offer any success at takedowns yet and has a negative significant strike ratio of 2.65 significant strikes landed and 4.61 absorbed.

Motta defends against significant strikes at 52 percent and defends against takedowns at 82 percent. Without any success with takedowns, he also does not have any stats for submissions.

Discover the odds on the upcoming match at MyBookie, where Tom Nolan stands as a moderate favorite (-330). If considering Nolan for your bet slip, explore combining him in a parlay with other fights or exploring prop bets for potentially higher payouts.

Nolan appears to have a great chance at success with strong striking. Neither fighter aims to compete on the ground, which shows this will be a striking war.