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This weekend sees the UFC return to Las Vegas for their latest Fight Night event, which features a high-level lightweight headliner.
UFC Fight Night: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev is somewhat low on name value, but with a number of top-level prospects and contenders in action, it should still be a show well worth watching.
Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev.
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#1. UFC lightweight division: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev
This lightweight bout has been a long time in the making. The UFC have already attempted to put it together on two previous occasions, only for it to fall apart both times.
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Initially, Brazil’s Rafael dos Anjos and Kyrgyzstan’s Rafael Fiziev were booked against one another in February, only for Fiziev to run into some problems with his visa. The bout was postponed for a month, but ‘Ataman’ then tested positive for COVID-19, forcing dos Anjos to face and defeat Renato Moicano instead.
Overall, though, this still looks like an excellent match between a truly battle-tested veteran and one of the best prospects in the division. So who will come out on top?
Naturally, we know far more about dos Anjos than we do about Fiziev. ‘RDA’ has been with the UFC for well over a decade now. While it’s inarguable that his career peaked when he claimed lightweight gold in 2015, he’s still a very dangerous fighter overall.
Right now, the Brazilian is riding a two-fight win streak as, prior to beating Moicano this year, he outpointed Paul Felder in late 2020. While he’s now 37 years old, ‘RDA’ remains the same fighter he’s been for years now – an excellent striker with a pressure-based, combination attack, and a deadly grappler on the ground.
We know that his kryptonite tends to be wrestling, as his last four losses have all come to fighters who were able to simply ground him and keep him there. That isn’t likely to be the case here, though.
That’s because Fiziev is largely a striker by trade, with seven of his eleven career wins coming by KO or TKO, including two in the octagon. Most recently, he dispatched the tough Brad Riddell with a wicked spinning wheel kick to the head.
Basically, then, this should come down to whether or not ‘RDA’ can take Fiziev down. If he can do that, then he should be able to take ‘Ataman’ out of his comfort zone, and he’ll probably find a way to win, perhaps by submission.
On the feet, though, while dos Anjos is still dangerous, Fiziev is probably the more explosive fighter. Given the age of the Brazilian veteran, it’s likely that the Kyrgyzstani will be able to land the bigger shots to win either a stoppage or decision.
Overall, this is a very tricky fight to pick, but given the sheer experience of ‘RDA’ – as well as the fact that he looked excellent against Moicano this year – it’s hard to look past him.
The Pick: Rafael dos Anjos via second round submission
#2. UFC middleweight division: Caio Borralho vs. Armen Petrosyan
Given their overall lack of experience inside the UFC, it’s probably safe to say that this middleweight bout is a curious choice for a co-headliner, even on a Fight Night event like this one. However, based on what little we’ve seen of Caio Borralho and Armen Petrosyan, we can probably expect fireworks.
Both men ended up in the promotion thanks to impressive showings on Dana White’s Contender Series, with both landing big knockouts to earn themselves a contract. Since then, they’ve both picked up debut wins inside the octagon, too.
Petrosyan was the first of the two to debut. He defeated Gregory Rodrigues in a tight split decision back in February. Interestingly, many observers felt that the Brazilian had actually done enough to win the fight, but in the end, ‘Superman’ was given the nod.
Based on that fight – and his previous bouts outside the UFC – Petrosyan looks like a very talented striker with plenty of knockout power and excellent technique. However, he does appear to have a weaker ground game, and as Rodrigues showed, a fighter willing to walk him down and brawl can have some success.
Borralho, on the other hand, is more of a grappler who is willing to strike with his opponents if he has to. The Brazilian has four KO wins on his ledger, but also has three tapout victories, and he won his octagon debut largely on the ground – even if it came in an odd technical decision when he landed an illegal knee to the head of opponent Gadzhi Omargadzhiev.
It’s probably fair to say that the fighter who can decide where this fight takes place should win this one, and that makes it a difficult one to pick.
Overall, though, Borralho looks like the safer bet purely because Rodrigues – who is not really a grappler – gave Petrosyan some difficult moments on the ground in their bout, meaning that the Brazilian should be able to find success there too.
The Pick: Borralho via unanimous decision
#3. UFC Fight Night: The Main Card
In a bantamweight clash, Said Nurmagomedov faces his toughest test to date in the form of Douglas Silva de Andrade. ‘D’Silva’ is definitely more experienced than Nurmagomedov and is a highly dangerous striker, so this should come down to whether he can prevent the takedown.
To be fair, the Brazilian does have decent takedown defense, as well as a strong ground game in his own right, but Nurmagomedov – like his cousin Khabib – seems to have the kind of powerful takedowns that are incredibly tricky to stop, and the nasty top game to go with it. Therefore, the pick is Nurmagomedov via TKO.
In the heavyweight division, Jared Vanderaa takes on Chase Sherman. This is likely to be a sloppy brawl with both men winging big punches. We’ll either get a huge knockout or a largely dull bout that goes the distance.
With both men on lengthy losing streaks, this could go either way, but Vanderaa has been slightly more impressive than Sherman, so the pick is ‘The Mountain’ via TKO.
In a middleweight bout, Jamie Pickett faces Denis Tiuliulin. Neither of these men have the best UFC record, bringing into question exactly why this fight has been chosen for the main card. However, Pickett has probably been slightly more impressive in the sense that he’s at least got an octagon win under his belt. The pick, therefore, is Pickett via decision.
Finally, in a lightweight clash, Michael Johnson takes on Jamie Mullarkey. Johnson looked back to his best in his last fight, which saw him knock out Alan Patrick, while Australia’s Mullarkey was on a good run before suffering a KO at the hands of the streaking Jalin Turner.
With both of these men being strikers, this fight could go either way, but Johnson has remarkably quick hands despite his recent patchy form – so the pick is ‘The Menace’ via KO.
#4. UFC Fight Night: The Prelims
Picks in bold
UFC flyweight division: Cynthia Calvillo vs. Nina Nunes
UFC bantamweight division: Aiemann Zahabi vs. Ricky Turcios
UFC flyweight division: Antonina Shevchenko vs. Cortney Casey
UFC middleweight division: Cody Brundage vs. Tresean Gore
UFC light-heavyweight division: Karl Roberson vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
UFC bantamweight division: Ronnie Lawrence vs. Saidyokub Kakhramonov
UFC featherweight bout: Austin Lingo vs. David Onama
