A rough start to his UFC career with a submission loss to Volkan Oezdemir has made way for back-to-back knockout victories for Guskov. Guskov is a power punching menace who loves to pressure and crash the pocket with his shots. His grappling is a bit suspect, as was exposed by Oezdemir and a bit by Spann, but if he can keep his opponents on their back foot, he has a better time of staying upright.
COLUMN: FIGHTER'S BLOCK
All of your mixed martial arts and full-contact combat sports news on the world's best fighters and the most intriguing matchups from your favorite MMA experts.
The UFC absolutely delivered on their first event of the year last week, which now makes way for their first PPV card of the year. Headlined by two title fights, the promotion heads to Los Angeles amidst the ongoing wildfires. Many believe the decision to keep the event in LA is to help boost morale during an unfortunate time for the city.
A rollercoaster of a UFC debut resulted in a victory for Gadzhiyasulov last year, now he tries taking out yet another Brazilian foe. Fighting as you would expect a Magomed to, Gadzhiyasulov uses a grapple heavy approach to nullify the offense of his opponents. Unfortunately, his level of competition and lack of dominant performances makes him not as dangerous as we’ve seen from other fighters that bring his skill set.
And just like that, the holidays are over! The UFC begins their 2025 campaign with a rematch in the main event between straweights. 13 other fights make up the event known as UFC Vegas 101, but none more important or as impactful to their respective divisions than the main event.
It’s a real shame that Davey Grant has not been more active throughout his UFC career. He lost in the TUF 18 Finale back in 2013, then took off 2.5 years, and has only competed 10 times since February 2016. 5 of his last 7 fights saw him earn either a performance or fight of the night bonus. Grant brings a dangerous and unorthodox power striking approach to the table which often takes place inside the pocket where he feels quite comfortable.
And just like that, the end of the 2024 UFC calendar is upon us. The promotion heads south, setting up shop in Tampa, Florida for their last event of the year. As of the writing of this article, 14 fights are scheduled to conclude a memorable year, culminating with a welterweight headliner that could volley a contender into title discussions.
After a stoppage loss to Bruno Silva, Durden took a short notice opportunity in September against Matt Schnell and got back to his winning ways. Durden is normally a relentless wrestler that loves to establish his dominant position to accumulate control time. He has started leaning on his hands more to set up his takedowns, but that has also left him open to being hit by better strikers.
Ending their PPV schedule at their home base in Las Vegas, the UFC brings a double-header of 5-round fights to the table for UFC 310. Originally scheduled to be headlined by a welterweight title fight between Belal Muhammad and Shavkat Rakhmonov, an injury to Muhammad has made way for Ian Machado Garry to step in. That fight will now serve as the co-headliner to a UFC flyweight title matchup.
Going to a decision in both of his RTU matchups, Sahota has shown tremendous improvements in his game. He is a lanky flyweight who maximizes his range with his striking, utilizing straight shots down the pipe and an active kicking game. Grappling has usually been where he struggles in the past, but he has made the correct improvements in his game to rectify that.