MMA Fighting Global Rankings<\/a>)<\/p>\nRafael Fiziev (14) vs. Manuel Torres<\/p>\n
The stage is set for Rafael Fiziev to put on a show, even against a formidable opponent like Manuel Torres.<\/p>\n
As in many of the striker\u2019s thrilling matchups, his success depends on controlling the range, in this instance utilizing smart footwork and tricky side-to-side movement to prevent Torres from getting a bead on him. Torres is an absolute sniper once he starts to connect and he won\u2019t need to land too many shots to put down Fiziev, whose chin is understandably weathered after years of trading shots with the lightweight division\u2019s best.<\/p>\n
The old man can still execute, though, and I\u2019m not holding losses to Mauricio Ruffy, Justin Gaethje, and Mateusz Gamrot (the latter due to injury) against him too much, even though it\u2019s fair to say Fiziev has lost a step or two to Father Time. I still view him as one of the best technical strikers in the UFC, someone who has such a strong grasp of the fundamentals that it allows him to break out flashier techniques when he gets into a groove.<\/p>\n
Torres has only fought past the first round once in his career and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a good thing against Fiziev. As the bout progresses, Fiziev\u2019s experience will pay dividends and he\u2019ll start to pick Torres apart. Just has to make it past Round 1.<\/p>\n
Shara Magomedov vs. Michel Pereira<\/p>\n
Guess what? I\u2019m not selling my Michel Pereira stock either!<\/p>\n
Call me delusional, but I still think\u2014despite plenty of evidence to the contrary\u2014that \u201cDemolidor\u201d still has enough left in the tank to win some big fights. It\u2019s obvious he\u2019s being set up to be styled on by Shara Bullet. I\u2019m not so sure it\u2019s that simple.<\/p>\n
Stylistically, Pereira might not have much in common with Michael Page, but he can imitate some of that veteran savvy when he\u2019s so inclined. As painfully dull as it can be to watch a more cerebral Pereira, his best bet is to frustrate Bullet as opposed to trying to match him move for move. Bullet is dangerous when he finds his rhythm and this could go downhill fast for Pereira.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m going with vibes here and picking Pereira to use his speed and agility to straight-up annoy Bullet, causing the Russian Muay Thai specialist to make mistakes. Pereira will capitalize and deliver a vintage highlight-reel finish for the upset.<\/p>\n
Nazim Sadykhov vs. Matheus Camilo<\/p>\n
One of four Azerbaijani fighters competing Saturday (shout-out to the debuting Farman Hasanov and Tahir Abdullayev), Nazim Sadykhov has a favorable, but still challenging matchup against Brazil\u2019s Matheus Camilo.<\/p>\n
After being bullied by Fares Ziam last time out, Sadykhov better work on his takedown defense and dealing with pressure because Camilo will to take the fight to him. Sadykhov\u2019s advantage is that he\u2019s the superior striker, which will make it difficult for Camilo to close the distance without eating some shots. On the flip-side, Sadykhov has also a tendency to take one to deliver one, so if Camilo wants a brawl, this fight could go down that path as well.<\/p>\n
Sadykhov will have to keep Camilo off of him for three rounds but as long as this one stays on the feet, the home-country favorite should batter Camilo en route to a decision win.<\/p>\n
Asu Almabayev (11) vs. Charles Johnson (15)<\/p>\n
This should be a wrestling-heavy win for Asu Almabayev, but I have my concerns:<\/p>\n
Almabayev is kind of a small dude and Charles Johnson is kind of a big dude, there will be a glaring size difference when they get in the cage.Almabayev is a willing striker, but limited in his defense as he tends to just use his athleticism to dodge out of the way as opposed to properly countering. That\u2019s a good way to get chinned.Johnson has a reputation for beating the odds. Depending which book you\u2019re looking at, Johnson has won the past four fights where he\u2019s an underdog.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not some weird coincidence that Johnson has knocked out both Joshua Van and Lone\u2019er Kavanagh. The man has the utmost confidence in his abilities and he packs a ton of punching power at 125 pounds. I guarantee you he sees Almabayev as easy pickings.<\/p>\n
Almabayev is disciplined, though, and his camp undoubtedly put a heavy emphasis on takedowns, takedowns, and more takedowns. As long as he keeps that chin tucked and focuses on maintaining position over hunting for a finish, he should win this fight on the cards.<\/p>\n
Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferreira<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t a complicated matchup.<\/p>\n
Ikram Aliskerov is all about cutting off the cage and letting his right hand fly, while Brunno Ferreira will be looking to swing big from the opening bell. Expect both fighters to respect the other\u2019s power, so we could see a slow start as they look to avoid getting caught in the opening minutes.<\/p>\n
Should it come to it, Aliskerov has shown he\u2019s more than willing to wrestle, and Ferreira could find himself stuck on his back or glued to the fence for long stretches. He\u2019ll have success on the feet when he\u2019s able to create separation, but he\u2019ll have to watch out for Aliskerov\u2019s sneaky bombs. In addition to his piston-like right, Aliskerov also has a short left hook he loves to throw.<\/p>\n
Aliskerov\u2019s only losses have come against Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev, two UFC middleweight champions. He still has a lot to prove that he belongs anywhere near that tier, but I still see him as a notch above Ferreira.<\/p>\n
A straight right proves to be Ferreira\u2019s kryptonite once again. Aliskerov by knockout.<\/p>\n
Abus Magomedov vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk<\/p>\n
Michal Oleksiejczuk has been a fun watch at middleweight. Kudos to him for properly making the drop down and trusting that his all-offense style would translate well in a lighter division. Should he be taken seriously as a contender?<\/p>\n
His opponent Abus Magomedov faces some of those same questions having stumbled against the best fighters in the division. There are serious questions about Magomedov\u2019s ability to succeed in a three-round fight, though fortunately for him that probably won\u2019t matter on Saturday. The like-minded Oleksiejczuk is going in there to finish and finish fast.<\/p>\n
Magomedov might have the slight power edge, but Oleksiejczuk\u2019s is such an effective boxer I expect him to break Magomedov down with volume and invite him to throw down in a one-round game of chicken. Grappling could be a major factor as the taller Magomedov could decide to tie Oleksiejczuk up and bring down to the mat, so we\u2019ll see if Oleksiejczuk\u2019s takedown defense holds up.<\/p>\n
This one could go either way. The only thing I\u2019m confident of is it doesn\u2019t go to the scorecards.<\/p>\n
Farman Hasanov def. Eric Nolan<\/p>\n
Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev def. Julius Walker<\/p>\n
Nursulton Ruziboev def. Andrey Pulyaev<\/p>\n
Javier Reyes def. Kaan Ofli<\/p>\n
Daniil Donchenko def. Theodor Berggren<\/p>\n
Bekzat Almakhan def. Jean Matsumoto<\/p>\n
Tahir Abdullayev def. Jefferson Nascimento<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UFC Baku could be Rafael Fiziev\u2019s last chance to get back on track. The proud Azerbaijani fighter has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":762709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,1347,785,85,787,1396],"class_list":["post-762708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-latest-news","tag-mma","tag-sports","tag-ufc","tag-ufc-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=762708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/762709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=762708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=762708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=762708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}