Jan's campaign for the title
Despite the fact that de jure in the main fight of the UFC tournament in Abu Dhabi, the reigning light heavyweight champion Jan Blakhovich and the ageless Glover Teixeira will meet, the most anticipated fight promises to be a fight with the participation of Peter Jan. The Russian was supposed to fight with Aljamein Sterling, but he again managed to avoid revenge. At first, the American referred to the injury, but later admitted that the reasons for refusing to enter the octagon were different. As a result of sparring with Merab Dvalishvili, he was dissatisfied with his form and decided to withdraw from the show.
Thus, the matchmakers had to hastily look for an opponent for Jan and arrange a battle for the interim title. The most logical decision would be to set him up with T.J. Dillashaw, but he only underwent knee surgery and was recovering. As a result, Corey Sandhagen got the chance to face off against the Russian. And it cannot be said that this opponent is the most convenient of the above.
Although Sandhagen was previously inferior to both Sterling and Dillashaw, he still has the right to be considered the top fighter of the bantamweight division.
One of his main trump cards is anthropometric data.
A 180-centimeter athlete easily fits into the category limit of up to 61.2 kilograms, which provides him with an advantage over his rivals in a standing position.
At the same time, the basic kickboxer also owns a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is able to create serious problems on the ground.
Until now, Ian has never fought such oversized opponents, so it is extremely curious if he will be able to pick up the keys to the American and break through to close range on a regular basis.
Makhachev's first serious test
If Ian has previously met with high-class rivals, then for Islam Makhachev the UFC tournament in Abu Dhabi will be a kind of baptism of fire. At the moment, the "heir" of Khabib Nurmagomedov has already spent ten fights in the Absolute Fighting Championship, but has never dealt with the current representatives of the top 10 lightweight division. And although the Russian is now one position higher than Dan Hooker and is considered the undisputed favorite of the battle, the New Zealander cannot be discounted.
Yes, Hooker has previously demonstrated that he is uncompetitive against lightweight stars.
He was beaten by Dustin Poirier, lost by knockout to Michael Chandler and Edson Barbosa.
But on paper, he adequately defends against takedowns (80%), and it is this skill that he will need in a duel with Makhachev.
Although he is one of the leaders of the division in terms of the difference between strikes delivered and missed (1.47, seventh place), he will certainly look for happiness in the fight.
Dan has already lost twice on the board and is likely to suffer a similar fate again.
If successful, Islam can break into the top 3 categories and be one step away from the status of the first contender.
Volkov's rehabilitation
While Makhachev continues his first full-fledged campaign behind the belt of the Absolute Fighting Championship, Alexander Volkov will make a third attempt to climb to the top of his category. For the first time, his prospects were crossed out by a crushing defeat to Derrick Lewis in the last seconds of the third round, in the second - by a loss to Cyril Gan. As a result, the Russian was forced to start all over again, and the first obstacle on his way would be Marcin Tybura. The Pole is in great shape and is on a five-wins streak. Among the strongest heavyweight fighters, only the champion and the first challenger - Francis Ngannu and all the same Gan - can boast of such a thing.
First of all, this fight is notable for the fact that both fighters previously held the M-1 Global title.
In 2014, Tybura took the trophy from Damian Grabowski, had two successful defenses and went to the UFC, leaving the title vacant.
He was replaced by Volkov, who is still the last champion of the promotion.
After his departure, Vadim Finkelstein did not see a worthy contender for the belt, so he did not play it.
One way or another, the duel promises to be extremely interesting, although Alexander is still the favorite.
Keeping an opponent at a distance can play a key role and predetermine the success of a Russian.
Ankalaev's new stage
The star domestic light heavyweight continues his ascent. After an ambiguous fight with Nikita Krylov, during which Magomed Ankalaev often excessively showed his respect for the enemy, he will have a meeting with Volkan Ozdemir. The former contender for the belt in the category up to 93 kilograms will have the first fight in 15 months and will try to rehabilitate himself for the knockout defeat from Jiri Prochazka.
For Ankalaev, the battle with Ozdemir is an ideal opportunity to establish himself as one of the main candidates for champions.
After a lackluster performance in the previous fight, he needs to demonstrate a vivid spectacle in a cage, and the Swiss is ideal for this plan.
Volkan is always ready to arrange a wheelhouse in a rack and is unlikely to change himself in a fight with Magomed.
At the same time, the Russian is noticeably more accurate than the enemy (54% - 45%) and misses significantly fewer blows (1.78 versus 4.24 on average per minute).
Challenges for Khabib's teammates
In addition to Makhachev, two more Eagles MMA representatives will perform in Abu Dhabi. And both will be opposed by rivals from Brazil. The higher place on the card is taken by Zubair Tukhugov, who will make a second attempt to fight Ricardo Ramos. The fighters were supposed to fight each other back in March, but then the Russian withdrew due to injury. And now it is already difficult to call him the unambiguous favorite of this duel. From that moment on, the Latin American managed to move away from a crushing defeat in the battle with Leron Murphy and take over Bill Algeo.
In turn, Tagir Ulanbekov will face off with Allan Nascimento in the second fight under the auspices of the UFC.
For various reasons, the Russian was forced to refuse to participate in three fights in a row, which is unlikely to have a positive effect on the attitude of the leadership towards him.
The battle with the promotion debutant is a great chance to prove that he is worthy to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and claim the highest places.
The return of Gamzatov and the debut of Duraev
Four other Russians will enter the octagon of the Etihad arena with similar motivation. One of the most anticipated promises to be the return of Shamil Gamzatov, who will have to fight with Michal Olekseychuk. In the last three fights, the experienced Pole suffered two defeats, both of which were painful, but it will certainly become a serious test for the domestic athlete. He not only did not meet with opponents of this caliber, but also did not perform since November 2019.
Like Gamzatov, Roman Kopylov last entered the cage at the UFC tournament in Moscow. But if the undefeated light heavyweight, though with difficulty, but prevailed over Clidson Abreu, then the former AMC Fight Nights champion was "strangled" by Karl Roberson. And in Abu Dhabi he will face an even more serious test in the person of his compatriot Albert Duraev. He made a splash at the Dana White's Contender Series show and, in the style of Khabib Nurmagomedov, dealt with Kayo Bittencourt. At the moment, his unbeaten streak is nine battles in a row, and the last defeat is dated March 2014. Then Anatoly Tokov defeated him.
In lightweight, there will also be a battle between two fighters from the post-Soviet space. Magomed Mustafayev, nicknamed the Sniper, who has never fought in the era of a pandemic, will make a long-awaited return and argue with Damir Ismagulov. The Kazakhstani gained popularity in Russia and made his way to the Absolute Fighting Championship through M-1 Global, after which he won four times in a row.
The next fight with the participation of Khamzat Chimaev promises to be also curious.
The Chechen Swede burst into the UFC welterweight division and won three wins in 66 days, after which he contracted coronavirus and did not fight for over a year.
Moreover, at times it seemed that the athlete could completely end his career, but in the end he still managed to cope with the illness and return to duty.
The first serious test for him promises to be the 11th rating number Lee Jingliang, who knocked out strong Santiago Ponzinibbio in the last battle.