🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[tokeweed]

So what are you guys betting on?  As for me I got a couple with decent odds but they're combo bets so higher chance they might not hit.   

I got Volk win via dec at 2.70 and Fiziev win via dec too at 2.90.  Aside from these two match ups, I don't really care about the rest.  This event isn't really that good for a PPV tbh.

But yeah, good luck everybody.    Here's one last look...

UFC 325:  Fighter Face Offs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9k6wUt2cDQ

[Synchronice]

Funny story.

There is such guy as Patchy Mix. He was a Bellator champ with 20-1 record before UFC signed him. Among 20 wins, 13 were by submission and 2 by KO. Rather scary dude on a paper and Bellator isnt a no-name promotion. This dude got signed for UFC this summer, lost 2 fights and got released Second loss what to a guy that was having a debut lol People were saying he would be nice addition to bantamweight. Turned out he did not

This makes me question the whole MMA. Multiple construction workers have joined the UFC and became champions or one of the best fighters in the world and guy, who spent his years in MMA instead of working construction, lost two times in a row and one loss was against a guy who had a debut? By the way, why did they cut him for two loses in a row? Other guys have lost when they joined UFC but they weren't fired.

I really wonder, can someone, an adult over the age of 25, who has been training his whole body for years, to succeed in MMA? I think that in combat sport, if you are talented, you are talented and that's it, you'll become an amazing fighter within a couple of years but if you are not, then it will probably take more than 5 years.

[TopTort777]

Seems that you are right, that it is either you guy that magical talent or not. Because you can train for years, but still be average or did not achieve anything at all.

Anyway, back to UFC 325. Now I get even more questions why Evloev is on pause for title shot. Lopes looked even worse that he was in first round. Not a single moment when I had hesitations if Volk is going to win. Btw, this is his 8th title defense, isnt this a record of promotion or division?

[trendcoin]

...
I really wonder, can someone, an adult over the age of 25, who has been training his whole body for years, to succeed in MMA? I think that in combat sport, if you are talented, you are talented and that's it, you'll become an amazing fighter within a couple of years but if you are not, then it will probably take more than 5 years.

I don't think there would be an extreme difference in strength between two people who do sports naturally. We know that people who have used steroids in the past have more satellite cells even when they are not using steroids, but even so, there wouldn't be an extreme difference in strength between two natural athletes. So, I would like to add to what you wrote that attention, awareness, reflexes, neuromuscular control, perceptual-cognitive processes, and decision-making mechanisms may be more decisive factors. Indeed, when I watch Islam, I see that he is extremely focused on his opponent in every fight. It's as if he never blinks. He's locked onto his opponent like an autistic person. My attention threshold would probably be insufficient against someone like that. Or against someone like Ilia Topuria, who can predict his opponents' movements in advance and react to them more quickly, I would have no chance. However, we also know that to be a good MMA fighter, we need to learn certain disciplines like wrestling and BJJ from a very young age, and that it's not easy to reach an elite level in these disciplines after a certain age. These are movements that require automatic motor patterns like balance and lifting. I claim that Alex is an amazing champion with a legendary career, but he has zero chance against an MMA fighter who knows wrestling at an elite level...

[TopTort777]

Have you noticed that Lopes was exactly the same this weekend, as he was in their first fight. Dunno who in his team suggested to keep same tactics for the second time, if he has lost in first fight. He has so many submission in record, black belt in bjj after all. Why not try to be first to submit Volk instead of playing Volks game? I guess its time for Lerone Murphy to be crashed on the rocks of Volks skills

[tokeweed]

^  Lerone Murphy is gonna fight Evloev at March in England.  Pretty sure the winner gets the title shot.  It could be in the White House event too. 

Anyway, here are the results...  You guys win any bets?  Won one, lost one...  So disappointed with Fiziev.  I don't think he'll have another title run now. 

Alexander Volkanovski def. Diego Lopes via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45)
Benoit Saint Denis def. Dan Hooker via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:45
Mauricio Ruffy def. Rafael Fiziev via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:30
Tallison Teixeira def. Tai Tuivasa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Quillan Salkilld def. Jamie Mullarkey via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:02
Billy Elekana def. Junior Tafa via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:18
Cam Rowston def. Cody Brundage via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 2, 4:08
Jacob Malkoun def. Torrez Finney via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Jonathan Micallef def. Oban Elliott via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:31
Kaan Ofli def. Yi Zha via majority decision (29-28, 28-28, 29-28)
Dom Mar Fan def. Sangwook Kim via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Keiichiro Nakamura def. Sebastian Szalay via TKO (knee) – Round 3, 3:48
Lawrence Lui def. Sulang Rangbo via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

[Pumared]

Have you noticed that Lopes was exactly the same this weekend, as he was in their first fight. Dunno who in his team suggested to keep same tactics for the second time, if he has lost in first fight. He has so many submission in record, black belt in bjj after all. Why not try to be first to submit Volk instead of playing Volks game? I guess its time for Lerone Murphy to be crashed on the rocks of Volks skills

I think they wanted to stick to the same game plan, thinking it would work. And they'll never try a submission against Volka because it's very difficult; he's a bulldozer and very hard to tire out. I think a submission might not be as effective and would only tire him out more than Volka. I think the most significant thing in the fight from Lopes' side was a wall that stopped Volka for half a second. The rest was just superior.

[TopTort777]

I have got some bad news for you guys. #2 of welterweight division, Shavkat Rakhmonov has re-injured his knee. Last time Rakhmonov fought against Ian Garry in 2024, then got injury, surgery and was on a recovery process. Now he has re-injured that knee and it looks that in 2026 we are not going to see him. It might even be that he will retire with his 19-0 record. Look, 2026 will be spend in recovery. Then he need to get back in form, then get opponent and have camp. It will be around 2.5-3 years of inactivity. He is 31. Guess we will never see Islam vs Shavkat

[pawel7777]

^  Lerone Murphy is gonna fight Evloev at March in England.  Pretty sure the winner gets the title shot.  It could be in the White House event too. 
(...)

Good move by the UFC to make Evloev fight in London. He's not very entertaining, to put it mildly, so they are hoping Murphy and the rest of the Brits will sell the seats and views. And they probably will.
Both Evloev and Murphy are undefeated, at this will remain true for only one of them after the event. Also, both of them have the majority of their wins earned by decision. All of Evlov's 9 UFC fights went to distance; some of them ended with split decisions.
I think Evloev will have his hand raised again, unless Murphy can surprise him with something unconventional, like the spinning elbow he finished Pico with (a fight that Pico was winning until that point).

And yes, the winner will most likely get the next shot at Volk's belt, that's, unless Arman goes down and gets the priority. Volk Vs Arman sounds much better for the White House event to me.

[TopTort777]

If this is not fake, Paramount+ need to check their employees qualification better I feel bad for Dan. Not only he had lost, but also got new nickname What do you think about Dan? He seems to be with UFC for a long time, but never achieved big. Always in the middle of a top. I dont remember him ever fighting for a belt.

Btw, due to Shavkat Rakhmonov re-injured knee, he is removed from welterweight rating...

[tokeweed]

^  Lerone Murphy is gonna fight Evloev at March in England.  Pretty sure the winner gets the title shot.  It could be in the White House event too. 
(...)

Good move by the UFC to make Evloev fight in London. He's not very entertaining, to put it mildly, so they are hoping Murphy and the rest of the Brits will sell the seats and views. And they probably will.
Both Evloev and Murphy are undefeated, at this will remain true for only one of them after the event. Also, both of them have the majority of their wins earned by decision. All of Evlov's 9 UFC fights went to distance; some of them ended with split decisions.
I think Evloev will have his hand raised again, unless Murphy can surprise him with something unconventional, like the spinning elbow he finished Pico with (a fight that Pico was winning until that point).

And yes, the winner will most likely get the next shot at Volk's belt, that's, unless Arman goes down and gets the priority. Volk Vs Arman sounds much better for the White House event to me.

The UFC has a funny way of doing things.  Wouldn't surprise me if they think it could go either way.  Evloev is a tough nut to crack.  This isn't a kind of giveaway match up for Murphy to please the English crowd.  This is a real fight with title implications for the winner.

Anyway here's the roster for the next event...  It's decent imho.  Main and co main are decent, I also like Oleksiejczuk vs Barriault... Wait, come to think of it all the match ups in the main card are decent enough for a Fight Night at the Apex.

The prelims is meh except for Nurmagomedov vs Basharat which should be in the main card imho.

Date:  Saturday, Feb 7
Main Card:  8:00pm EST
Preliminary Card:  5:00pm EST
Venue:  Meta Apex, Las Vegas, Nevada



Main Card
Bantamweight:  Mario Bautista vs. Vinicius Oliveira            
Flyweight:  Amir Albazi vs. Kyoji Horiguchi            
Heavyweight:  Jailton Almeida vs. Rizvan Kuniev            
Middleweight:  Michał Oleksiejczuk vs. Marc-André Barriault            
Bantamweight:  Jean Matsumoto vs. Farid Basharat            
Light Heavyweight:  Dustin Jacoby vs. Julius Walker

Preliminary Card
Welterweight:  Alex Morono vs. Daniil Donchenko            
Welterweight:  Nikolay Veretennikov vs. Niko Price            
Women's Strawweight:  Bruna Brasil vs. Ketlen Souza            
Bantamweight:  Said Nurmagomedov vs. Javid Basharat            
Women's Flyweight:  Wang Cong vs. Eduarda Moura            
Bantamweight:  Muin Gafurov vs. Jakub Wikłacz            
Women's Bantamweight:  Klaudia Syguła vs. Priscila Cachoeira

[Pumared]

If this is not fake, Paramount+ need to check their employees qualification better I feel bad for Dan. Not only he had lost, but also got new nickname What do you think about Dan? He seems to be with UFC for a long time, but never achieved big. Always in the middle of a top. I dont remember him ever fighting for a belt.

Btw, due to Shavkat Rakhmonov re-injured knee, he is removed from welterweight rating...

Dude, it makes absolutely no sense that they have to translate the fighters' names. They're proper names, and it's precisely because of situations like this that you shouldn't do it. Now the guy will be forever known for this unintentional meme.

Another thing, I didn't see any promo for FN this week. But I did see promo for the Oliveira vs. Holloway fight; I thought it was this week.

[trendcoin]

I have got some bad news for you guys. #2 of welterweight division, Shavkat Rakhmonov has re-injured his knee. Last time Rakhmonov fought against Ian Garry in 2024, then got injury, surgery and was on a recovery process. Now he has re-injured that knee and it looks that in 2026 we are not going to see him. It might even be that he will retire with his 19-0 record. Look, 2026 will be spend in recovery. Then he need to get back in form, then get opponent and have camp. It will be around 2.5-3 years of inactivity. He is 31. Guess we will never see Islam vs Shavkat :(

The UFC has removed Shavkat from the Welterweight rankings. I haven't seen an official statement from Shavkat, but the situation seems serious. If he could return in a short time, I don't think he would have been removed from the list entirely...


https://www.ufc.com/rankings

At least he can retire as an undefeated fighter. It's always good to look at the glass half full...


By the way, Ian Garry reposted a tweet claiming Shavkat's career is over. Does a person pride himself on an oblique kick? Oh my god, I really can't believe this. I think it's more embarrassing than poking someone in the eye. In my opinion, bragging about an unethical move that isn't banned in the UFC is not suitable for an elite fighter...

[Mindyspace]

So what are you guys betting on?  As for me I got a couple with decent odds but they're combo bets so higher chance they might not hit.   

I got Volk win via dec at 2.70 and Fiziev win via dec too at 2.90.  Aside from these two match ups, I don't really care about the rest.  This event isn't really that good for a PPV tbh.

But yeah, good luck everybody.    Here's one last look...

UFC 325:  Fighter Face Offs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9k6wUt2cDQ

Volk betting by decision makes sense, but in combined bets the real probability drops significantly. Sometimes high odds are deceiving, but mathematics doesn't forgive. I like betting on UFC but it gives me a lot of anxiety. The last time I bet, just by betting I won, I was happy, but this time I'm not going to risk so much.   

[TopTort777]

I have got some bad news for you guys. #2 of welterweight division, Shavkat Rakhmonov has re-injured his knee. Last time Rakhmonov fought against Ian Garry in 2024, then got injury, surgery and was on a recovery process. Now he has re-injured that knee and it looks that in 2026 we are not going to see him. It might even be that he will retire with his 19-0 record. Look, 2026 will be spend in recovery. Then he need to get back in form, then get opponent and have camp. It will be around 2.5-3 years of inactivity. He is 31. Guess we will never see Islam vs Shavkat

The UFC has removed Shavkat from the Welterweight rankings. I haven't seen an official statement from Shavkat, but the situation seems serious. If he could return in a short time, I don't think he would have been removed from the list entirely...


https://www.ufc.com/rankings

At least he can retire as an undefeated fighter. It's always good to look at the glass half full...


By the way, Ian Garry reposted a tweet claiming Shavkat's career is over. Does a person pride himself on an oblique kick? Oh my god, I really can't believe this. I think it's more embarrassing than poking someone in the eye. In my opinion, bragging about an unethical move that isn't banned in the UFC is not suitable for an elite fighter...

Also all Shavkhat social media account are silent lately. Neither there is any info from his manager Sayat Abdrakhmanov. Shavkhat is on a series of bad luck. Months ago his wife and son got in a serious car accident, now new injury and removed from UFC. Waiting for info from UFC. It is ok if they remote him, because he will be out from fighting for a year, after being on a pause for a year already. Take #2 of division should not be on a pause for so long. If or when he returns, I am sure they would give someone from upper top, and he might return his position on top.

[tokeweed]

^  Weird turn of events...  But yeah, curious on what's going on behind the scenes.  Hope he's ok.

As for this weekend's event, what are you guys betting on?  Looks like this is a parlayable card imho.  But I do got a couple of underdogs piquing my interest.  They are Albazi at 3.80 and maybe Julius Walker at 2.50.  More interested in the former more than the latter tho.

Here's a vid of one of the guys in the main event.

Mario Bautista vs Patchy Mix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AWgV-x6acQ

[TopTort777]

I am only interested in watching Jailton Almeida vs. Rizvan Kuniev in next event. Because this fight is like wtf for me. Almeida had a split loss to Volkov (who might next to have a title fight, which might mean that Almeida was somewhere near a title fight also), he is #6 and accepted Kuniev on 2.5 week notice. Top vs kinda a noname for UFC. Kuniev lost his debut, came from Dana Contenders series and is facing #6 among heavyweights. Wtf? Easy money for Almeida? But what if he loses due to a random punch ? Kuniev in general is a WTF guy First fight against Blaydes who is #4 now, second fight against #6. How is he getting those top guys?

[Pumared]

I am only interested in watching Jailton Almeida vs. Rizvan Kuniev in next event. Because this fight is like wtf for me. Almeida had a split loss to Volkov (who might next to have a title fight, which might mean that Almeida was somewhere near a title fight also), he is #6 and accepted Kuniev on 2.5 week notice. Top vs kinda a noname for UFC. Kuniev lost his debut, came from Dana Contenders series and is facing #6 among heavyweights. Wtf? Easy money for Almeida? But what if he loses due to a random punch ? Kuniev in general is a WTF guy First fight against Blaydes who is #4 now, second fight against #6. How is he getting those top guys?

I think Almeida is an ideal fighter for the heavyweight division, and the UFC wants to work with him as much as possible. He sells well, he fights well without much fuss, and the guy has a lot of charisma. This generates money and keeps the division active, so testing him to the maximum to try and give him a title shot would be a next step, but he needs to be tested in every way, I think that's what the UFC wants.