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After a week without any action, the UFC is back this weekend for its latest Fight Night at the Las Vegas APEX.
UFC Fight Night: Roman Dolidze vs. Nassourdine Imavov features a card with a very European feel, and while it’s lacking in big stars, it should be fun nonetheless.
Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Roman Dolidze vs. Nassourdine Imavov.
#1. UFC middleweight bout: Roman Dolidze vs. Nassourdine Imavov
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Although neither of these fighters have the biggest name, they are both ranked highly in the UFC’s middleweight division, meaning this could have title implications, hypothetically at least.
Of the two, it’s probably fair to say that Nassourdine Imavov has had slightly more experience at the top level. He actually headlined a UFC event last year, losing to future champ Sean Strickland via decision after five rounds.
Roman Dolidze, meanwhile, suffered a defeat to former title challenger Marvin Vettori last time out and will want to bounce back from that here.
Interestingly, though, many observers scored that fight for the Georgian native. Sure, he slowed down and looked tired at the end of the bout, but his punching power clearly held up throughout. Essentially, if he could learn to throw more than brutal haymakers, it’d be easy to imagine him as a real contender.
Imavov, meanwhile, debuted with a grappling reputation, but has proven himself as a deadly striker, taking out the majority of his foes on the feet.
Against Strickland, though, he simply couldn’t avoid the pressure game of ‘Tarzan’, and even though he did relatively well, he clearly came up short.
Based on the toughness of both men, it’s hard to imagine a finish here. Therefore, this should come down to whether Dolidze can hurt ‘The Sniper’ with his booming punches while also not absorbing too many of Imavov’s more technical shots in return.
Will either man look for a takedown? Both men are dangerous on the ground, but it feels likely that not only will their wrestling cancel out, but neither man will really want to engage on the mat either.
Essentially, this one could go either way, but based on the fact that Imavov still seemed fresh in the final round against Strickland, while Dolidze clearly slowed down in the latter stages of a three-round bout against Vettori, ‘The Sniper’ would seem to have a very slight edge.
The Pick: Imavov via decision
#2. UFC lightweight bout: Renato Moicano vs. Drew Dober
Not only is this lightweight tilt a surefire contender for the Fight of the Night award, it also has the potential to be one of the best fights of 2024 thus far.
Both Renato Moicano and Drew Dober are ridiculously aggressive, with a combined total of 30 finishes in 44 bouts. More to the point, they also have very polarising styles, with Dober looking to knock his opponents out and Moicano tending to look for a submission.
Who is likely to win out, then? Is this fight really as simple as Dober keeping it on the feet and winning, or being taken down and losing?
The answer is maybe. There’s no denying that Dober is one of the most explosive strikers on the lightweight roster right now. He has bricks for hands and if he gets an opponent hurt, they’re usually going to be finished off.
To add to this, while Dober’s defensive wrestling is solid enough, if he is taken down, he does have a tendency to struggle against submission experts, hence his tapout losses to Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev.
However, for as heavy a hitter he is, Dober isn’t untouchable on the feet. Matt Frevola stunned everyone by knocking him out last year, and Brad Riddell was able to outpoint him with a more technical attack, too.
Moicano will obviously hope to get this to the ground to strangle Dober, but he isn’t an entirely useless striker, either. Sure, he has a tendency to hold his chin too high, but he’s difficult to finish, and as we saw in his fights with Brian Ortega and Calvin Kattar, he does possess a very strong jab.
If you go skill-by-skill, then, this ought to be Moicano’s fight to lose. He’s definitely capable of tapping Dober on the ground, particularly if he can take the back, as he’s a very dangerous grappler who’s submitted superior mat workers than his foe this weekend.
However, every fight starts standing and unless the Brazilian can land a takedown very quickly, he runs the risk of eating a big shot from Dober on the counter, particularly if he still leaves his chin high.
This one should be fireworks to watch, and realistically, the pick is a bit of a coin toss. Overall, though, Dober perhaps has slightly more momentum behind him right now, and if he gets Moicano hurt, it’s likely over.
The Pick: Dober via second-round KO
#3. UFC Fight Night: The Main Card
In a welterweight bout, Randy Brown faces Muslim Salikhov. A couple of years back, this would’ve been a real battle of prospects, as both men seemed likely to reach the top 15 at worst.
Since then, though, neither man has quite reached their potential. Salikhov hasn’t fought since a disappointing loss to Nicolas Dalby last summer, while Brown edged out Wellington Turman literally a week later.
Realistically, this fight will probably come down to whether Salikhov can find his range against the lanky ‘Rude Boy’, who stands at 6’3”, making him very tall for a welterweight.
It’s arguable that Salikhov is probably the more explosive striker and he definitely has the capability of taking Brown out, but if he can’t get inside to land his big shots, then he could be in trouble. More to the point, ‘The King of Kung Fu’ is now 39 years old, meaning he could well fall off at any point.
Overall, this one could be tricky to pick, but based on the potential of Salikhov slowing down and the issues he might have with distance, the call is Brown via decision.
In a middleweight clash, Aliaskhab Khizriev faces Makhmud Muradov. An extremely flashy striker who loves low-percentage attacks and packs a lot of power, Muradov looked to be on his way to the top after three big wins in a row in the octagon.
However, a pair of losses in 2021 and 2022 knocked him back, and while he did win his last fight, the bloom is now largely off his rose.
Khizriev, on the other hand, hasn’t quite got the same levels of hype once afforded to ‘Mach’, primarily because he’s only fought once in the UFC and hasn’t appeared since 2022. However, he appears to be well-rounded, has slick grappling skills to go with his punching power, and is unbeaten at 12-0.
This one is a difficult call to make, primarily because it’s hard to guess exactly what Khizriev might bring to the table given his lengthy layoff. However, based on Muradov’s grappling struggles in his two losses, the smart pick seems to be for Khizriev to work him over on the mat. The pick is Khizriev via submission.
In a welterweight tilt, Gilbert Urbina squares off with Charles Radtke. This one is likely to be a brawl, and to be honest, who knows which way it goes? Neither man has really proven to be UFC level at this stage, and while Radtke is unbeaten since 2021, he’s also only fought in the octagon once and didn’t really shine.
Urbina, meanwhile, did at least show some skills and toughness in his TUF run, and his last fight was a fun and violent win. Don’t expect a classic, but the pick is Urbina via TKO.
Finally, a flyweight bout sees Viviane Araujo face Natalia Silva. This fight is super interesting and should be a chance for Silva to break into title contention. She’s unbeaten in the octagon at 4-0, most recently defeating Andrea Lee.
With plenty of wins via both submission and KO on her record, the Brazilian is clearly a dangerous fighter, but she hasn’t truly been tested yet. Araujo is likely to do that. A UFC veteran since 2019, Araujo doesn’t have the best record – 6-4 – but she’s been in with top fighters like Alexa Grasso and Amanda Ribas.
Essentially, while their styles aren’t similar, you can almost view Araujo as flyweight’s Neil Magny, a fighter who will beat everyone but the elite in her weight class.
What is worth noting here, though, is that Silva is clearly a violent finisher while Araujo isn’t. That could be seen in different ways; Silva may well blow her wad in attempting to take her out, but could also dispatch Araujo in a rush.
Given that Araujo has never been finished in the octagon, though, the smarter pick seems to be her. Araujo via decision is the call.
#4. UFC Fight Night: The Prelims
Picks in bold
UFC flyweight bout: Luana Carolina vs. Julija Stoliarenko
UFC strawweight bout: Molly McCann vs. Diana Belbita
UFC flyweight bout: Azat Maksum vs. Charles Johnson
UFC welterweight bout: Themba Gorimbo vs. Pete Rodriguez
UFC featherweight bout: Jeong Yeong Lee vs. Blake Bilder
UFC lightweight bout: Landon Quinones vs. Marquel Mederos
UFC heavyweight bout: Thomas Petersen vs. Jamal Pogues
