UFC Fight Night 163: Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar - Predictions and Picks

#3 Zelim Imadaev vs. Danny Roberts

Danny Roberts has his back to the wall after two straight losses

This could well be the last chance saloon for both fighters; Zelim Imadaev was brought into the UFC with some hype behind him following an unbeaten run on the Russian circuit, but ended up struggling in his debut against Max Griffin, particularly on the ground. England’s Roberts meanwhile has lost his last two fights, and most recently was KO’d in violent fashion by Michel Pereira.

The likelihood is that this fight should be decided by how Roberts looks to play things. Although he’s more of a striker than a grappler, ‘Hot Chocolate’ is no novice on the ground; he submitted Nathan Coy in his UFC debut and was also able to outwork the tricky David Zawada in a fight full of scrambles and grappling exchanges.

Given the fact that Imadaev struggled so much to prevent the takedown against Griffin – another man known more for his striking than his grappling skill – then it’s definitely not out of the realm of possibility that Roberts could look to secure a takedown and perhaps hunt for a submission.

The problem though is that Roberts is almost a decade into his professional MMA career and he’s taken quite a lot of damage along the way, to the point where it’s probably fair to question his chin. Of his four UFC losses, three have come by knockout and all of them have been extremely violent finishes. Against Pereira in particular, the Brit simply didn’t look ready for the onslaught that his opponent threw at him, and was taken out in just under two minutes.

Imadaev might be lacking in the grappling department but he was able to bounce back to his feet on numerous occasion against Griffin, and if nothing else, he’s a concussive, violent striker who’s more than willing to throw flashy strikes at his opponent to get the job done. That’s worrying for Roberts, particularly when you consider that he tends to be a reactive fighter rather than one who pushes forward from the off.

This is a tricky fight to call as Imadaev’s ceiling may be far lower than the other fighters who’ve taken Roberts out, but in the end I just can’t trust the chin of ‘Hot Chocolate’ against a fighter who’s got 8 knockouts on his ledger.

The Pick: Imadaev via first round KO