UFC Saudi Arabia: Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov continues on the prelims with a fight in the light heavyweight division between promotional newcomer Magomed Gadzhiyasulov and Brendson Ribeiro. Gadzhiyasulov makes his UFC debut after securing his contract with a unanimous decision victory on the Contender Series his last time out meanwhile, Ribeiro is coming off his first loss inside the Octagon in his last fight. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Gadzhiyasulov-Ribeiro prediction and pick.

Magomed Gadzhiyasulov (8-0) is an undefeated prospect who secured his contract after a unanimous decision victory against Jose Medina who also received a contract for his efforts. This will be Gadzhiyasulov’s debut after eight months of his Contender Series victory as he takes on fellow Contender Series alumni Brendson Ribeiro.

Brendson Ribeiro (15-6) also secured his contract after a first-round knockout victory on the Contender Series against Bruno Lopes. Unfortunately, his UFC debut didn’t go as planned as Zhang Mingyang brutally knocked him out in the first round at UFC 298. Ribeiro will be looking to get back on track when he takes on Magomed Gadzhiyasulov in Saudi Arabia.

Here are the UFC Saudi Arabia Odds, courtesy of BetOnline. 

UFC Saudi Arabia Odds: Magomed Gadzhiyasulov-Brendson Ribeiro Odds

Magomed Gadzhiyasulov: -310

Brendson Ribeiro: +260

Over 1.5 rounds: +180

Under 1.5 rounds: -220

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Why Magomed Gadzhiyasulov Will Win

Magomed Gadzhiyasulov is an undefeated prospect fighting out of Bahrain but is from Dagestan, Russia. He secured his contract with a dominant performance against Jose Medina on the Contender Series in 2023 and will now finally be making his long-awaited UFC debut this weekend against Brendson Ribeiro.

Gadzhiyasulov is your typical fighter from Dagestan with an elite combat sambo background. He likes to take his opponents down at will and use his ground and pound his opponents into the canvas until they can’t take the damage anymore. While he specializes in grappling, he still is quite technical on his feet which doesn’t make him a fish out of water when having to strike against the dangerous Ribeiro. In this matchup, Gadzhiyasulov would be wise to utilize his combat sambo background and take this fight to the mat, keeping this fight standing will give Ribeiro a chance to land something that can put his lights out. As long as Gadzhiyasulov can refrain from having a kickboxing affair with Ribeiro he should be able to take him down and finish him thereafter.

Why Brendson Ribeiro Will Win

Brendson Ribeiro secured his contract with the UFC after a brutal knockout against Bruno Lopes on the Contender Series last season. However, his UFC debut didn’t go quite as well when he was brutally knocked out himself by Zhang Mingyang in the first round. Ribeiro will be looking to finally get in the win column when he takes on the undefeated Magomed Gadzhiyasulov this weekend.

Ribeiro is a very dangerous striker with a long frame standing at 6’3″ and an 81″ reach. This will come in handy against a fighter like Gadzhiyasulov will be looking to grapple and take him down. While Ribeiro isn’t the most technical striker on the feet, he makes up for it with his raw power and unpredictability when it comes to which angles his strikes will be coming from. If Ribeiro can tone down his striking a bit and be a bit cleaner he could land something flush on Gadzhiyasulov that could put his lights out as he scores a huge upset and his first win inside the Octagon.

Final Magomed Gadzhiyasulov-Brendson Ribeiro Prediction & Pick

This fight should be a barnburner for however long it lasts between these two light heavyweight contenders. Magomed Gadzhiyasulov had himself a scare in his Contender Series where he was dominating early in the fight but his gas tank imploded as Medina gave him a run for his money in the later rounds. As for Ribeiro, his fights normally don’t make it past round two win or lose, and has seen the judge’s scorecards just once in his 21 fights which has a good indication that this fight might end early. Ultimately, Magomed Gadzhiyasulov is the more well-rounded and technical fighter out of the two, and barring some big shot from Ribeiro should be the one winning this fight especially if he’s able to drag him into deep waters after round one where he should dominate this fight on the mat eventually getting him out of there notching his 9th win in a row keeping his undefeated record intact.

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Final Magomed Gadzhiyasulov-Brendson Ribeiro Prediction & Pick: Magomed Gadzhiyasulov (-310), Under 1.5 Rounds (-220)