Robocop Looking To Take Out A Cannon

After stops in Saudi Arabia and Australia, the UFC returns to Las Vegas this week and there is a heavy focus on the middleweight’s. That’s because three of the fights on the main card feature middleweight bouts. With this in mind, you have to feel that all six middleweight contenders will be looking to lay down a marker.

A Mis-Firing Cannon

Jared Cannonier was once one of the most feared men in the middleweight division, largely due to his freakishly scary power. However, after to back to back defeats many have questions whether the 40-year-odds best days are behind him.

But when you delve into things, perhaps the picture doesn’t look quite so bad. That’s because the two defeats came against high level competition in the form of Caio Borralho who has now won seven straight in the UFC and also Nassourdine Imavov who many believe could challenge for the title very soon. We also have to recognise that prior two those defeats he picked up wins against Marvin Vettori and former middleweight champ Sean Strickland.

Standing across the cage from him this week will be Gregory ‘Robocop’ Rodrigues. The Brazilian has won five of his last six fights but he hasn’t fought anywhere near the same level of competition that Cannonier has taken on.

This really is do or die for Cannonier in this one. After losing his last two, and taking into consideration his age, he probably doesn’t have too many chances left. A desperate man, that posseses the power that he does can be a dangerous combination. Therefore, I’m going to take him to bounce back and the sportsbook odds look generous for him to do so.

Betting Prediction – Jared Cannonier to Win

New Fight – Same Scenario

The co-main event on the card sees Calvin Kattar battle Youssef Zalal and we have a very similar situation here as the main event. That’s because Calvin Katter has lost four of his last five matchups, while Zalal has won his previous three and is unbeaten in four.

However, there is a clear gap in the class of fighters that each man has faced. Kattar has competed with the very best that the featherweight division has to offer. This includes Aljamain Sterling, Arnold Allen, Josh Emmett, Giga Chikadze, Max Holloway and more, the list literally goes on and on. While Zalal has a couple of notable wins under his belt, nobody he has beaten could get close to any of the fighters that Kattar has fought over the past few years.

But there is one thing which puts me off tipping up Kattar in this one. That one thing is that Zalal went all the way to the judges scorecards with current champion, Ilia Topuria. Now the fight was almost five years ago, granted, however, on that night, the bookmakers had Zalal down as the favorite to win. Not many UFC fighters can boast that claim.

Given his recent losses I believe that Kattar could go into this one with the mindset of not wanting to lose the fight, rather than wanting to win it. Many will think this is the same thing, but it’s not. Someone who wants to win the fight will be going all out on the defense. But a fighter that simply doesn’t want to lose will be a lot less open and will have a more defensive approach. For this reason I think this one could go the distance. Added to that, five of Kattar’s last six bouts have gone to the scorecards.

Betting Prediction – Fight to go the Distance

D-Day For Shahbazyan & Budka

It’s D-Day for both Edmen Shahbazyan and Dylan Budka and that ‘D’ stands for desperation. Both fighters come into this one with losing records of late and therefore, nothing but a comprehensive win will do for either man.

Shahbazyan has experience on his side and that could play a key role here. While both will be on the offense from the get go, Shahbazyan may be a bit more calculated with his attack given his experience. Although his record hasn’t been great as of late, we have to remember that he has shared the octagon with some top middleweight contenders. The same cannot be said for Budka who has lost both of his two UFC fights to date. You have to think that it could be three strikes and you’re out .

Despite his poor record as of late, everything clearly points to an Edmen Shahbazyan win, however the odds are way to short to take that option. Instead I’m going to tip this one up to finish relatively early. Only one of Shahbazyan’s last ten fights have gone to the judges scorecard, which proves what a live wire he is.

Betting Prediction – Under 2.5 Rounds

A Sad Day For Sadykhov

Although not quite a household name yet, Ismael Bonfim has a lot of hype behind him and probably deservedly so. His career started almost a decade ago when he battled it out with Brazil’s finest under the Jungle Fight Men banner. However, he didn’t get his break with the UFC until 2023.

His UFC journey started with a devasting KO win over the well traveled Terrance McKinney. The UFC was so impressed with that win that he was frust into matchup with French MMA star Benoit Saint-Denis. Although the fight didn’t go the Brazilian’s way, the bookmakers he has listed as the clear favorite to win that night. Since then he has picked up a victory against Vinc Pichel and he looks defined for greater things.

Sadykhov has also won two of his three UFC fights to date, however, he is still undeafted after drawing with Russian Borshchev last time out. He too has a second round victory over Terrance McKinney, which shows how closely matched these two are. However, I wasn’t overly impressed with Sadykhov last time out and given Borshchev lost last weekend, that form line looks a weak one to me.

Betting Prediction – Ismael Bonfim to Win

Written By Dean McHugh.