The UFC has got a track record for putting on great nights when the Octagon arrives in Miami.
This weekend’s card at the Kaseya Center on April 12 looks to be no different with UFC 314 bringing some of the biggest fights of the year to date.
The fourth PPV card of 2025 has a bit of everything with the vacant featherweight title on the line in the main event as Alexander Volkanovski looks to reclaim the throne by halting the winning streak of Diego Lopes.
The main card also features some of the most talked about matchups in some time with the likes of Paddy Pimblett vs Michael Chandler and Bryce Mitchell vs Jean Silva attracting a lot of interest.
Earlier on in the night, some of the prelims have the potential to produce some real highlights with Brazil’s Marco Tulio having a good track record for doing just that.
Marco Tulio produced the first spinning back kick knockout in Contender Series history
Fighting out of the iconic Chute Boxe gym alongside the likes of Charles Oliveira, Marco Tulio was first introduced to UFC fans back in 2023.
He defeated Yousri Belgaroui via a unanimous decision on Dana White’s Contender Series but his performance wasn’t enough to earn him a contract on that occasion.
After going away and getting a knockout win at LFA 175, Tulio returned to the show the following year where on episode 3 of season 8, he faced France’s Matthieu Duclos.
Tulio came in as a big favorite and though he won the first round, his somewhat wild attacks gave Duclos plenty of opportunities to get out of the way and land a counter.
The Brazilian began to pick his shots with more composure in the second which paid off for him after he landed a big right hand and followed it up with a spinning back kick to the liver.
It was immediately obvious that Tulio had earned his spot on the roster having producing a stunning highlight reel knockout after needing to win in more impressive fashion.
Dana White confirmed this when announcing the winners at the end of the episode where he also handed out contracts to Malcolm Wellmaker, Bogdan Grad and Andrey Pulyaev.
“This is his second win in the Contender Series, you looked very impressive tonight. I’m sure you guys probably said this 300 times but I guess that’s the first spinning back kick finish in the Contender Series’ history. You’re 12-1 now, you’re gonna get your shot buddy, get over here Marco.”
Marco Tulio looks to produce back-to-back wins at UFC 314
Marco Tulio got off to a good start in his UFC career after stopping Ihor Potieria in the first round this past January in his Octagon debut.
The 30-year-old knockout artist is back in action on April 12 where he will face former The Ultimate Fighter finalist Tresean Gore.
After suffering a loss to Bryan Battle and a knockout defeat against Cody Brundage, Gore has bounced back with consecutive submission victories.
Their middleweight contest is set to be the second fight of the night meaning that either Tulio or Gore are in with a good chance of producing the first highlight of UFC 314.
