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UFC Vegas 85: Roman Dolidze vs. Nassourdine Imavov continues on the main card with a fight in the middleweight division between Aliaskhab Khizriev and Makhmud Muradov. Khizriev was successful in his only fight in the UFC and is coming into his second fight in the promotion off of a 23-month layoff meanwhile, Muradov got back on track in his last fight with a dominant decision victory. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Khizriev-Muradov prediction and pick.
Aliaskhab Khizriev (14-0) came into his shot on the Contender Series as an undefeated prospect with seven of his 12 wins coming inside the distance. He made quick work of his opponent submitting him in under a minute to stay undefeated and secure his UFC contract. Khizriev did one better finally making his UFC debut two years later after four fight cancelations submitting Denis Tiuliulin and extending his unbeaten streak to 14. He now puts his unbeaten streak on the line against his toughest competitor to date Makhmud Muradov this weekend at UFC Vegas 85.
Makhmud Muradov (26-8) started off his UFC career on fire with three victories and two of those victories coming via vicious knockout. Since then, Muradov has gone 1-2 with his most recent fight being a dominant victory against Bryan Barberena. He will now attempt to get back on a winning streak for the first since 2019 when he takes on Aliaskhab Khizriev at UFC Vegas 85.
Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of DraftKings.
UFC Vegas 85 Odds: Aliaskhab Khizriev-Makhmud Muradov Odds
Aliaskhab Khizriev: -148
Makhmud Muradov: +124
Over 1.5 rounds: -210
Under 1.5 rounds: +160
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Why Aliaskhab Khizriev Will Win
Aliaskhab Khizriev got his shot on the contender series as an undefeated middleweight prospect at 12-0. He made quick work of his opponent submitting him in under a minute and quickly received his UFC contract. After a plethora of fight cancelations, he didn't make his UFC debut until two years later where he made up for lost time by submitting Denis Tiuliulin in the second round. Khizriev will be making his second walk to the octagon to take on Makhmud Muradov after being on the shelf for 23 months.
Khizriev is your typical Dagestani fighter who has exceptional grappling, ground and pound, and submission game that is extremely hard to compete against. The only drawback here is that Khizriev is one of the smallest if not the smallest middleweights on the roster standing in at only 5'9″ but he makes up for that with his technique and strength. He will be taking on his stiffest competition to date in Makhmud Muradov who will have a substantial size advantage in this fight but luckily for Khizriev his biggest glaring weakness is his defensive grappling. If Khizriev can get this fight to the mat and keep Muradov there he could keep his unbeaten streak alive this weekend at UFC Vegas 85.
Why Makhmud Muradov Will Win
Makhmud Muradov is part of The Money Team which is spearheaded by of course Floyd “Money” Mayweather and he is the only fighter in the UFC under that team. Muradov came in guns blazing in his UFC career rattling off three straight wins with two of those three wins coming by knockout. Since then he has gone 1-2 in his last three but most recently had a dominant performance against Bryan Barberena. He will be taking on the undefeated Aliaskhab Khizriev in an attempt to get back on a winning streak.
Muradov had a big letdown in his first UFC loss when he was submitted by Gerald Meerschaert and then doubled that up with a unanimous decision loss to Caio Borralho but had looked a bit improved in his takedown defense in that fight. Muradov knows that he needs to keep his back off the mat as that is where he will succeed in this fight. Seeing his improved takedown defense he has the chance if he can shrug off the early entries or work his way back to the feet he could punish Khizriev as he starts to fade as the fight progresses and get the upset victory.
Final Aliaskhab Khizriev-Makhmud Muradov Prediction & Pick
This is a fantastic matchup in the middleweight division between two prospects trying to break through in the division. Khizriev is looking for the biggest win of his career as he comes off of his lengthy layoff. His suffocating top game has been dominant throughout his 14-fight career and will be looking to impose his will against a fighter who is known to have trouble in that department. However, Muradov has been making strides in his grappling and looks up to the task of keeping this fight solely on his feet.
Ultimately, Khizriev will be shooting early and often against Muradov as he will land takedowns but it will be Muradov will make Khizriev work for those takedowns as well as work back to his feet and that is where Muradov will take over with his striking either ending Khizriev late or getting the decision victory.
Final Aliaskhab Khizriev-Makhmud Muradov Prediction & Pick: Makhmud Muradov (+124), Over 1.5 Rounds (-210)
