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The UFC returns to its Apex in Las Vegas this weekend for its latest Fight Night event, and while it lacks name value, this show could produce plenty of excitement.
UFC Fight Night: Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mateusz Gamrot might not feature star power, but there are plenty of exciting fighters in action, making it a show that should be worth watching.
With that in mind, here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mateusz Gamrot.
#1. UFC lightweight division: Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mateusz Gamrot
Okay, so it’s fair to say that this headline bout is lacking in name value, as neither Arman Tsarukyan nor Mateusz Gamrot have ever been this high on a card before, and neither man has really caught on with the fans as a star yet.
However, it’s hard not to see this fight as being similar to the one between Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway back in 2015. At that time, neither of those fighters were close to being the stars that they are today – but the UFC gave them a shot, and in the end, they went onto greatness.
So can Tsarukyan and Gamrot do the same thing? More to the point, who will win this one? Both questions are interesting ones.
Both men have similar records – Tsarukyan is 18-2, Gamrot is 20-1 – but it’s Tsarukyan who has been around in the promotion slightly longer. He debuted in early 2019 in a late-notice bout with Islam Makhachev, and pushed the Dagestani to the limit en route to a decision loss.
Following that, the Armenian reeled off three straight wins via decision, and has since knocked out his last two opponents in violent fashion.
Gamrot, meanwhile, came up short against Guram Kutateladze in his octagon debut, but has been perfect ever since, stopping Scott Holtzman, Jeremy Stephens and Diego Ferreira – the latter victory breaking him into the lightweight division’s top 15.
In terms of how they match up, they’re quite similar fighters in a lot of respects. Both men have finishing abilities in all areas, they’re well-sized for 155lbs, and neither man appears to have any issues with their gas tank.
However, one area that Tsarukyan appears to have an advantage in is in terms of wrestling. Outside of Christos Giagos, who was stopped quickly, the Armenian has taken every one of his foes in the octagon down, including Makhachev.
Gamrot’s takedown defense has been good thus far, but the only fighter to really test that was Kutateladze, and while the Georgian couldn’t take him down, he did outwork ‘Gamer’ down the stretch to take a decision win.
Overall, this is a very tough fight to pick, but Tsarukyan seems to be on a slightly higher level than Gamrot right now, and so while he may not be able to finish him, the smart money is on him taking a decision.
The Pick: Tsarukyan via unanimous decision
#2. UFC welterweight division: Neil Magny vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
After he destroyed Carlston Harris in February to go 3-0 in the UFC, it was inevitable that Shavkat Rakhmonov would be handed a step up in his next fight. That step-up is here in the form of Neil Magny, who is not only ranked higher than ‘Nomad’, but who also has miles more experience.
It seems incredible, but Magny is closing in on a decade of action inside the octagon, as he debuted there in early 2013 after his appearance on the 16th season of The Ultimate Fighter.
‘The Haitian Sensation’ wasn’t expected to make much noise, especially after going 1-2 in his first three bouts, but a seven-fight win streak followed and not only opened people’s eyes, but it moved him into the top ten, too.
Since then, Magny has had his ups and downs. He’s picked up some huge wins, beating fighters like Kelvin Gastelum, Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit, but he’s also suffered some bad losses too, a number by stoppage.
Essentially, the TUF veteran is probably the welterweight division’s best gatekeeper. Beat Magny, and a fighter is probably going to be considered to be at the elite level. So is Rakhmonov that good?
Based on what we’ve seen thus far, he definitely could be. He’s shown a sneakily dangerous grappling game to go along with his nasty, explosive strikes, and we haven’t really seen him in any bad areas either.
Magny is likely to be able to force him to fight against at least some adversity. He’s taller than ‘Nomad’, possesses a reach advantage and can work behind a jab well, meaning that if Rakhmonov wants to catch him, he’ll have to work very hard.
However, ‘The Haitian Sensation’ has also historically struggled with explosive fighters, particularly those who are specialists in one area, as Rakhmonov is on the feet.
The smart pick is probably Magny. He’s far more experienced, knows how to win fights, and is on a two-bout win streak. However, Rakhmonov looks remarkably dangerous and is a brutal finisher in all areas – and at some stage, he’s likely to catch Magny – meaning that he could produce something special.
The Pick: Rakhmonov via first round KO
#3. UFC Fight Night: The Main Card
In a heavyweight bout, Josh Parisian faces Alan Baudot. Given that both men are coming off losses and haven’t made much noise in the UFC, this one could prove to be a loser-leaves-town clash.
Overall, though, Parisian appears to be the slightly harder-hitting fighter, and in the heavyweight division, that could be enough to make the difference. Parisian via TKO is the pick.
In a lightweight clash, Thiago Moises faces Christos Giagos. This one is a clash of two grapplers, and although Moises has lost his last two bouts, one loss came to Islam Makhachev and the other came via TKO.
Giagos simply isn’t the grappler that Makhachev is, nor is he a heavy hitter. Instead, he’s more of a traditional submission artist – but he isn’t on the same level as Moises and has been submitted in his own right on numerous occasions. So Moises via tapout is the pick.
At bantamweight, Nate Maness takes on Umar Nurmagomedov. Maness has thus far shown himself to be a tough customer in his UFC career, as he’s won three bouts in a row, most recently knocking out Tony Gravely.
However, he could be up against it here. Nurmagomedov – like his namesake Khabib – is a monstrous grappler who looks comfortable in simply bullying foes before submitting them or beating them up on the ground. Nurmagomedov via submission is the pick.
Finally, Chris Curtis takes on Rodolfo Vieira in a middleweight clash. Curtis produced some big upsets in 2021, beating both Brendan Allen and Phil Hawes via TKO, so can he pull another one off against Vieira, one of the world’s best grapplers?
This basically comes down to whether Vieira can take Curtis down without gassing. If he can do that, it’ll be game over for ‘Action Man’. If he can’t, then who knows? The smart money is on Vieira via submission, but Curtis definitely has an outside shot.
#4. UFC Fight Night: The Prelims
Picks in bold
UFC light-heavyweight division: Carlos Ulberg vs. Tafon Nchukwi
UFC featherweight division: Shayilan Nuerdanbieke vs. TJ Brown
UFC bantamweight division: Raulian Paiva vs. Sergey Morozov
UFC flyweight division: JP Buys vs. Cody Durden
UFC bantamweight division: Brian Kelleher vs. Mario Bautista
UFC strawweight division: Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Jinh Yu Frey
UFC flyweight division: Tyson Nam vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
