Since joining the UFC on short notice last year, Naimov has rattled off three straight victories. In my opinion, all three of those wins have asterisks attached to them for various reasons. He is a solid wrestler, with good strength, power shots, and a decent ability to control opponents on the mat. Cardio has been an issue for him in the past, which is something the two opponents who defeated him were able to exploit.
For the first time in its history, the UFC heads to Saudi Arabia with a respectable fight card. Although it started with Khamzat Chimaev in the headlining act, maintaining former champion Robert Whittaker is still a sellable ticket. There were big promises when the UFC announced its plans to go to Saudi Arabia, so much so they postponed it to this weekend after not having an appropriate card for the originally rumored card in March.
Although she got passed up on the Contender Series this past season, the UFC still rewarded Knutsson with a short notice fight in September that she dominated her opponent in. It may not be the most entertaining, but Knutsson is one of the toughest fighters at the weight class due to her aggressiveness, pressure, and physicality.
It’s wild to think that the UFC was close to pulling the trigger on ending the flyweight division, especially considering the number of high-level prospects it is churning out. The prospects are morphing into main event fighters and to top it all off, they are producing fight of the night type battles. Henry Cejudo, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Brandon Moreno can be given the credit, but the changing of the guard is upon us.
Looking to keep her undefeated record alive, Moura seeks her second win with the UFC. She earned her contract through the Contender Series in August then dominated Montserrat Ruiz in November. Grappling is the name of the game for this Brazilian as she does a great job of smothering her opponents on the mat and looking for finishing opportunities.
Returning to Louisville for the first time since their debut in the city back in March 2011, the UFC brings a solid 14-fight slate anchored by middleweight clash. Once again, it is refreshing to see the UFC slowly transitioning to a road schedule compared to settling for events in the UFC Apex.
Since dropping her UFC debut, Perez has bounced back with two dominant victories where she was able to accrue 20 minutes of control time over the course of 30 minutes of cage time. Her striking still needs work, but she does a great job of implementing her grappling and being a blanket from the top position. Out-muscling her opponent is often on the gameplan and she has been successful against 9 of his 11 opponents thus far.
After a week off, the UFC has returned with a PPV card going down in Newark, New Jersey. Two five-round fights headline the card with the lightweight title on the line and a pivotal middleweight affair below it.
After a blistering 19-second knockout in his UFC debut, Magomedov has fallen on hard times with back-to-back losses. Although he holds the “Magomedov” last name, he does not grapple as heavily or effectively as the name would lead you to believe. He largely relies on his power striking style to hurt his opponents, put them away, or set up submission opportunities for himself.