Preview: UFC on ESPN 18 Main Card

Flyweights

#15 FLW | Amir Albazi (13-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. NR | Zhalgas Zhumagulov (13-4, 0-1 UFC)

ODDS: Albazi (-110), Zhumagulov (-110)

This is an interesting match that should help the winner gain a foothold at 125 pounds. Albazi has an interesting set of skills, but it is difficult to parse how he will develop going forward. He is a powerful athlete with a reliable grappling game and some striking power, but his lone real test prior to the UFC was a bit worrisome. Jose Torres presented by far the biggest threat Albazi had seen to date, and while “The Prince” fought smartly, he quickly got thrown off of whatever he was trying to accomplish and mostly stayed defensive. The adopted Brit took care of Malcolm Gordon without much trouble in July, and it will be intriguing to see how Albazi develops going forward. While he is still relatively young at 27 years old, he has also been a professional fighter for over a decade and may already be at his ceiling. He will take on Kazakhstan’s Zhumagulov, who is looking to rebound from a narrow loss to Raulian Paiva in his own UFC debut in July. Zhumagulov came to the UFC after a reign as flyweight champion in Fight Nights Global, and he certainly has a champion’s style, starting off slow before eventually building his offense with each consecutive round. That was the story of the Paiva fight. Zhumagulov had things in hand by the third round but was unable to overcome a rough start on the scorecards. The key to this one will be how quickly Zhumagulov can find his reads and make Albazi uncomfortable. Given that Zhumagulov is not much of a power puncher and that Albazi should be able to score some takedowns—Zhumagulov is not much of a defensive wrestler—that may take a while, even if Zhumagulov should take over by the end of the fight. Both men should have their moments, but the pick is Albazi via decision.

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