Steven AsplundW vs. Guilherme Pat
UFC Fight Night · August 8, 2026 · Meta Apex · Prelims 5:00 PM ET
The brief
- The result
- Steven Asplund by Decision (unanimous), R3
- What kind of fight
- Heavyweight slugfest
- Finish likelihood
- High
- The line
- Asplund -300 · Pat +240BetMGM
- The stakes
- Heavyweight · Prelims
The result
Steven Asplund def. Guilherme Pat — Decision (unanimous), R3
The heavyweight prelim lived up to its billing as a slugfest: Asplund dropped Pat with a right hand and followed up with ground-and-pound in round one, Pat answered by hurting Asplund with a jab-and-hook combination in round two, and a high kick wobbled Pat in round three before both men slowed in the clinch.
All three judges scored it 29-28 for Asplund.
The unanimous decision snapped Asplund's skid following his loss to Vitor Petrino and confirmed the pre-fight expectation that his heavy volume would be the deciding factor.
The breakdown below was written before the fight.
The read
Two knockout artists with zero combined takedowns is not a recipe for the judges' scorecards.
Asplund's smothering volume should force Pat into more exchanges than he wants, and Pat's low output has already cost him once against Petersen. But the Brazilian's length and accuracy make him dangerous every time Asplund charges in behind that high-risk pressure.
Take Asplund to break him with pace somewhere in the middle rounds — while accepting he could get countered clean at any moment.
The matchup
Both heavyweights are coming off the first losses of their careers, and both losses came the same way — getting outpointed over three rounds.
Stylistically this is pure kickboxing: neither man has attempted a single UFC takedown, so it comes down to Asplund's overwhelming volume against Pat's reach and 61 percent accuracy. The pace differential is massive — Asplund throws nearly four times Pat's output — but he also absorbs a ton, and Pat is the sharper single-shot counter puncher.
Somebody's chin gets a full diagnostic here.
Tale of the tape
| 7-2 | Record | 6-1 |
| 28 | Age | 32 |
| 6'5" | Height | 6'6" |
| 78" | Reach | 81" |
| Orthodox | Stance | Orthodox |
| United States | Country | Brazil |
| McCune's Martial Arts | Team | Lotus Club |
The numbers
Career UFC averages. Red bar = statistical edge.
The fighters
Steven Asplund 7-2
“Concrete”
Steven Asplund is a 28-year-old Minnesota heavyweight who punched his way into the UFC with a 16-second demolition on Dana White's Contender Series in 2025. Six of his seven wins are knockouts, and his output is absurd for the division — over 10 significant strikes landed per minute, roughly triple a normal heavyweight's pace. He battered Sean Sharaf in his official debut before dropping a decision to former light heavyweight prospect Vitor Petrino in March 2026, a fight where he still landed his share. Nicknamed Concrete, he fights like a man trying to finish the night early — for better or worse.
- LVitor Petrino · Decision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs. Vallejos · March 14, 2026
- WSean Sharaf · TKO (punches)UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Kape · December 13, 2025
- WAnthony Guarascio · TKO (elbows)Dana White's Contender Series 2025 · September 9, 2025
Guilherme Pat 6-1
“Kong”
Guilherme Pat is a towering Brazilian heavyweight from São Paulo's Lotus Club with an 81-inch reach and the nickname Kong. He built his 6-1 record on the Brazilian circuit and in the LFA, where four of his wins came by knockout, including an 18-second head-kick blitz in 2023. In the UFC he's shown a more measured, low-output style — a decision win over Allen Frye Jr. in his debut, then a majority-decision loss to wrestler Thomas Petersen in April 2026. He's economical and accurate, but at some point the big Brazilian needs to let Kong off the leash.
- LThomas Petersen · Decision (majority)UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Duncan · April 4, 2026
- WAllen Frye Jr. · Decision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Kape · December 13, 2025
- WMauricio Boni Cogo Queiroz · TKO (punches)LFA 191 · August 30, 2024