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

#6 The Prelims: ESPN card

Highly touted prospect Magomed Ankalaev returns to action this weekend

Strangely enough all of Saturday’s preliminary fights are set to be shown on the ESPN network, with the main card then moving to ESPN+. There’s actually a lot to like on the prelim card too, despite a lack of name value.

At the top of the card is a Light-Heavyweight clash between Magomed Ankalaev and Dalcha Lungiambula. Both of these fighters are high-level prospects; Ankalaev is 12-1 and 2-1 in the UFC, and would be undefeated had he not made a late mistake against Paul Craig, while Lungiambula looked dangerous and extremely powerful in his UFC debut in June. Lungiambula looks explosive enough to take any fighter out, but he relied a lot on his grappling in that win over Dequan Townsend, and I’m not sure he’ll be able to do that against a wrestler the calibre of Ankalaev. I think Ankalaev’s more rounded skills should pull him through here and he’ll win a relatively close decision.

At Welterweight, Rustam Khabilov faces off with Sergey Khandozhko in what will be Khabilov’s debut at 170lbs. It’s a surprising move given Khabilov has never looked like a huge 155lber, but assuming he doesn’t struggle with the move I think he can win this one. Khandozhko outpointed Rostem Akman in his UFC debut but Khabilov is far more experienced and his takedown is remarkably hard to stop. It might not be entertaining but I like Khabilov via decision here.

Karl Roberson returns to action at Middleweight to face newcomer Roman Kopylov, in what has been a long debut coming given the Russian signed with the UFC last year. A Sambo champion, Kopylov has become known for his dangerous striking during his MMA career, which makes this a very tricky fight to call given Roberson’s own background in kickboxing. I’m going to lean towards Kopylov due to his grappling background but this could go either way.

At Welterweight, David Zawada takes on Abubakar Nurmagomedov, the brother of current UFC Lightweight kingpin Khabib. Abubakar – who was involved in the infamous UFC 229 scuffle with Conor McGregor – doesn’t have the glitzy record of his brother but he’s a very dangerous fighter with a similar style. Zawada has shown himself to be a solid grappler thus far into his UFC career, but I don’t think he’ll have enough to fend off Nurmagomedov, who I’m picking to win by TKO.

At Bantamweight Pannie Kianzad faces Jessica-Rose Clark in the lone fight not to involve a Russian on this card. Interestingly this is a rematch from a 2015 fight that saw Kianzad win a decision. Clark has been fighting at Flyweight most recently but is moving back to Bantamweight for this one, but I’m not sure it’ll bring her success; Kianzad lacks natural athleticism but her takedowns will probably pull her through against a smaller opponent here to win a decision.

The UK’s Davey Grant returns at Bantamweight to face Grigorii Popov, who made his UFC debut earlier this year. Popov didn’t show a lot in his debut; he was violently stopped by veteran Eddie Wineland, but it’s hard to trust Grant given he hasn’t won a fight since 2016 and has spent a lot of time on the shelf. I’ll take Popov via decision.

At Lightweight Alexander Yakovlev faces Roosevelt Roberts. An intriguing prospect, Roberts lost a bit of his lustre when he was defeated by Vinc Pichel earlier in the year, but his lanky frame makes him a problem for most opponents, and I’m not sure Yakovlev has the ability to deal with his attacks. I like Roberts via TKO here.

Finally at Light-Heavyweight, Ed Herman is back, facing off with Khadis Ibragimov. Ibragimov lost his UFC debut, a late-notice fight in China back in August, but it’s nearly impossible to trust Herman at this stage; he’s been in the UFC for 13 years now and has taken insane amounts of punishment over his time. Ibragimov via KO is my pick.