UFC 288
Date and place: May 6, Newark (USA).
Significant fights: Aljamain Sterling (h) vs. Henry Cejudo (bantamweight title), Belal Muhammad vs. Gilbert Burns, Movsar Evloev vs. Bryce Mitchell, Ikram Aliskerov vs. Philip Hawes.
May will open with the largest tournament of the month in the UFC, in the main fight of which the fate of the championship title in the category up to 61.2 kg will be decided. Although Petr Yan was superior to the American in the rack, he was not so skilled in grappling, which is why the judges had minimal reason to give preference to his counterpart. And TJ Dillashaw could not compete because of a shoulder injury.
Henry Cejudo, on paper, is not only in no way inferior to Sterling, but seems to be an extremely inconvenient opponent for him. The ex-champion in two divisions ranks fourth among all the fighters of the promotion in terms of the percentage of time spent on the back (0.15%). And in the battle with the wrestling-focused Aljamain, this could be a key factor. In the rack, he has never impressed and is unlikely to be able to surprise his compatriot, who previously beat the same Dillashaw, Marlon Moraes, Dominick Cruz, as well as Demetrius Johnson himself.
The main question is in what form Cejudo is. At the time of the show, it will be almost three years since his last appearance in the cage. Yes, there is an example of Jon Jones, who returned after a similar pause and immediately dismantled Cyril Gane into small bricks, but will Henry be able to repeat his achievement? Bookmakers are not sure. Now the odds for the success of both opponents are approximately equal.
Separately, it is worth noting the second most important fight of this evening. It's all about Gilbert Burns. For him, this fight will be the third in less than four months. And if he wins, then the management may well make him the first contender for the welterweight title. Dana White has always respected athletes who are ready to fight often and do not choose opponents. And the Brazilian is one of them. Of course, Belal Muhammad should not be written off, if only because he won eight victories in a row (except for stopping the fight with Leon Edwards). But in the stance he is noticeably worse, and in the stalls he can be waiting for a painful one from the owner of a black belt in jiu-jitsu.
Also in Newark, two Russians will fight at once. And the greatest interest is the duel with the participation of Movsar Yevloev, who did not appear in the cage for 11 months. In June 2022, he dealt with the strong Dan Ige and extended his unbeaten streak to 16 fights, but before the fight with Bryce Mitchell, he tore both ligaments of his knee. Now he has recovered and got a second opportunity to meet with the American, but this time the opponent withdrew due to injury a few days before the fight. He will be replaced by Brazilian Diego Lopez, whose track record is frankly not impressive - over the past 20 months, he has won only three fights out of seven, and in other promotions. Accordingly, Movsar should forget about significant dividends in case of victory.
Ikram Aliskerov, known to many for his duel with Khamzat Chimaev, will also make his debut there. In 2019, they met at the BRAVE CF tournament, and the Swede of Chechen origin knocked out his counterpart in just 146 seconds. Since then, the Russian has won five victories, including over Mario Silva at the Dana White's Contender Series. Philip Hawes will try to interrupt his tread - a fighter with a heavy blow, but not the most versatile and skillful. Of the last three fights, he lost twice by knockout in the first round.
UFC on ABC 4
Date and place: May 13, Charlotte (USA).
Significant fights: Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Jailton Almeida.
A week later, the UFC will visit Charlotte for the first time since January 2018, where the next weekly tournament will take place. Like five years ago, it will be crowned with a duel with the participation of the Brazilian. Then it was the declining Jacare Souza, now it is the rising star Jailton Almeida, who will soon be able to become one of the leaders of the heavyweight division. But if the same Sergey Pavlovich earns popularity due to frantic felling in the rack, then the Latin American claims to be one of the strongest grapplers in the category. Most recently, his power was felt by the Russian Shamil Abdurakhimov, who was subsequently dismissed from the championship.
And there are very few prerequisites that Jairzinho Rozenstruik will be able to stop the victorious step of the Latin American. Almeida is unlikely to exchange with him in the stance, and in the stalls the Surinamese does not have the proper skills. Therefore, it is his promising opponent who should be called the favorite. And if Jailton manages to live up to expectations, then before the end of the year he can get someone more serious as an opponent. The same Alexander Volkov, whose paths crossed with almost all the tops in his weight category.
ACA 157
Date and place: May 19, Kazan (Russia).
Significant fights: Artem Frolov vs. Shamil Abdulaev (Middleweight Grand Prix quarterfinals), Yusuf Raisov vs. Alexander Matmuratov.
The next ACA show is of interest, if only for the reason that its results will determine the future contender for the middleweight title. The winner of the main fight of the evening will not only receive a ticket to the semifinals of the Grand Prix, but also the right to fight the winner of the duel between the current trophy holder Magomedrasul Hasanov and its former owner, Salamu Abdurakhmanov. It is also noteworthy that earlier Artyom Frolov and Shamil Abdulaev fought once for the belt, but lost. Moreover, the first was beaten by Hasanov, and the second by Abdurakhmanov.
At the same time, it is extremely difficult to single out a favorite in this battle. On the one hand, over the past four years, Abdulayev has only entered the cage three times. And although in all three cases he succeeded, he fought far from the strongest opponents, and even in rather little-known leagues. The same cannot be said about Frolov, who is forced to withstand competition from the strongest middleweights of the ACA. True, he did not always succeed. During the same period, he had nine fights, but only in five of them he prevailed. However, only the tops were able to stop him. In addition to Hasanov, who coped with him twice, he failed to cope with Magomed Ismailov and Abdul-Rahman Dzhanayev.
The duel with the participation of Yusuf Raisov also looks intriguing. Until recently, he was considered one of the most promising lightweights in the country and the favorite of the ACA Grand Prix, but in November last year he lost ahead of schedule to Eduard Vartanyan and said goodbye to hopes of winning the tournament. Since then, he has already managed to knock out Alain Ilunga and rehabilitate himself for the recent failure, and now he will try to extend the successful streak. And although Alexander Matmuratov cannot be called a whipping boy, he is hardly a favorite. Even if he has won five fights in a row.
UFC Fight Night 224
Date and venue: May 20, Las Vegas (USA).
Significant fights: Vyacheslav Borshchev vs. Mehashat.
Far from the most remarkable show will decorate the Russian lightweight. Vyacheslav Borshchev broke into the largest MMA promotion on the planet in 2022 and, following the results of the first fight, was awarded a bonus for "Performance of the Evening" and multiplied the audience of fans. But it didn't go any further. The bright drummer ran into the wrestlers twice and missed a total of 20 takedowns in 30 minutes, losing his chances of success. And now he will try to get back on the winning track and save himself from being fired.
And Maheshat seems to be an ideal rival candidate for Borshchev. He also prefers to solve all issues with his fists, and in the previous three fights he never tried to get to his feet. Thus, fans are guaranteed to have a bright and colorful duel in the octagon, which may well end ahead of schedule. Unless the Chinese suddenly decides to change tactics and turn it into a grappling competition.