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UFC Brazil: Jailton Almeida vs. Derrick Lewis continues on the prelims with a fight in the welterweight division between Rinat Fakhretdinov and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. Fakhretdinov is currently on a nine-fight winning streak while winning all three of his fights in the UFC meanwhile, dos Santos is coming off of back-to-back victories for the first time since 2018-2019. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Fakhretdinov-dos Santos prediction and pick.
Rinat Fakhretdinov (22-2) has been an absolute wrecking machine as he ran through each of his first three opponents inside the octagon. Most recently he submitted Kevin Lee in his return fight in just 55 seconds into the first round. Fakhretdinov is looking to continue his hot streak when he takes on his toughest competition to date Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in hopes of getting a potential top-ranked fighter with a big win in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (24-7) came off over a two-year layoff in his last fight and looked considerably slower than we've seen from him in the past but he was still able to get the win over Abubakar Nurmagomedov. He gets to take on yet another Russian grappler Rinat Fakhretdinov as he attempts to get a three-fight winning streak for the first time in nearly four years as he puts on a show in front of his hometown crowd this weekend in Brazil.
Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of DraftKings.
UFC Brazil Odds: Rinat Fakretdinov-Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos Odds
Rinat Fakretdinov: -340
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos: +270
Over 2.5 Rounds: -130
Under 2.5 Rounds: +100
How to Watch Rinat Fakretdinov vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
TV: ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 6:00 p.m. ET/ 3:00 p.m. PT (Prelims)
Why Rinat Fakretdinov Will Win
Rinat Fakhretdinov has been wrecking the competition during his time as a professional MMA fighter. After dominating on the regional circuit, he got his chance on the big show when he went up against Andreas Michailidis who he dominated for the entire 15 minutes, and then his next two performances thereafter he has gotten better and better.
Fakhretdinov now gets to show the UFC brass and the fans that he is one of the best welterweights in the division when he takes on longtime UFC veteran Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. Dos Santos is clearly the best competition that Fakhretdinov has faced in his career but if he is able to utilize his wrestling background and ground and pound like he has in fights past then there is no reason why he can't pass this test with flying colors and emerge as a contender in the welterweight division.
Why Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos Will Win
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos was once thought of as a legitimate title contender when he won seven straight fights from 2016 to 2019 but he has since gone 3-2 while having a long layoff between his last two fights. Even at age 36, dos Santos has shown he is a tough fight for anyone in the division and has the takedown defense to really make this a tough fight for Fakhretdinov.
Dos Santos is by far the best striker that Fakhretdinov has faced in his career and will be the one winning the exchanges the longer this fight stays on the feet. As long as dos Santos can defend the takedowns or get up after being taken down he has the chance at scoring the massive upset in front of his home crowd.
Final Rinat Fakretdinov-Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos Prediction & Pick
These two welterweights will be looking to go to war this Saturday night in hopes of surging up the rankings in the division. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos came off a long layoff in his last fight and looked a bit slower than usual but he was still able to do his best work on the feet and at range while defending the takedowns of Nurmagomedov which was impressive. He will need to replicate the same success he had in that fight against the dangerous mauler that is Rinat Fakhretdinov.
While Fakhretdinov isn't the most technical striker, he does possess a ton of power on the feet as we saw in his fight against Kevin Lee. Just because dos Santos has the technical advantage doesn't mean that Fakhretdinov can't land something powerful and sit him down. Ultimately, things get a bit dicey on the feet for Fakhretdinov early on until he is able to get ahold of dos Santos where he will take him down eventually wearing him out over 15 minutes for the unanimous decision victory.
Final Rinat Fakretdinov-Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos Prediction & Pick: Rinat Fakhretdinov (-340), Over 2.5 Rounds (-130)
