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#3 UFC Welterweight Division: Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Mounir Lazzez

Abdul Razak Alhassan has not fought in the UFC since 2018

One of the most powerful punchers in the UFC’s Welterweight division, it’s been a long time since we last saw Alhassan in action. The Ghanaian looked to have a bright future when he turned Niko Price’s lights out at UFC 228 in September 2018, but since then he’s been gone.

Why? Well, just weeks after his win over Price, he was indicted on rape charges, stalling his career. Back in March though, Alhassan was found not guilty of all charges, and now ‘Judo Thunder’ is ready to return to the UFC.

That nickname is essentially a bit of an outlier. Sure, Alhassan is a known judoka, competing in the sport for 22 years according to most sources. But like fellow judoka Hector Lombard, the Ghanaian simply hasn’t bothered to use his grappling all that much in the UFC.

Every one of his 10 wins has come by knockout, with the only man capable of surviving against him thus far being Omari Akhmedov. The Russian managed to defeat him by using his grappling and his more technical striking to largely nullify Alhassan’s deadly power punching.

That’s why this fight is quite intriguing. Lazzez is largely an unknown making his UFC debut, but judging by the footage on him, he’s definitely got talent. Known as ‘The Sniper’, the native of Tunisia fights out of Dubai and holds a 9-1 record.

Like Alhassan, he’s a clear knockout artist. Of those nine wins, just one has come by decision with the others all via KO or TKO. Lazzez throws straight punches, heavy kicks, and can counter-strike beautifully, and he’s clearly got brutal power in his shots.

The issue that he has is that judging from what I’ve seen, he keeps his chin high in the air. That could be a recipe for disaster against a puncher as devastating as Alhassan. But equally, if he can land first – as Akhmedov did – then he could come out on top.

Basically someone’s going down in this fight. If it goes the distance I’d genuinely be astonished. I’m betting on Alhassan purely because he’s got more experience and has beaten far better opponents. However, to see Lazzez destroy him early wouldn’t be a surprise either. This should be a lot of fun.

The Pick: Alhassan via first-round KO