UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Torres Predictions

UFC Fight Night 280: Fiziev vs. Torres takes place on Sunday (AEDT) at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan – and we’ve got our UFC predictions for all the fights below, and you can place your bets with the best betting sites Australia has to offer!

Rafael Fiziev vs. Manuel Torres Prediction

Rafael Fiziev has suffered four losses in his last five fights and now tries to get back on form against Manuel Torres, who has won five of his six UFC bouts.

The 33-year-old Fiziev is certainly a better fighter than his recent record would suggest, as evidenced by his seven-fight winning streak prior to that, during which he beat the likes of Rafael dos Anjos, Brad Riddell and King Green. The last few years have been tough for him though, not only losing to top talents like Justin Gaethje (x2), Mateusz Gamrot and Mauricio Ruffy, but also having to deal with a torn ACL in 2023 that kept him out for an extended period of time. That’s an unfortunate injury for a fighter like Fiziev as his dynamic, high-level muay thai striking ability depends on his speed, agility and footwork, as does his solid takedown defense. The good news is that he still retains those attributes for the most part. However, he does have a lot of wear and tear now, as you might expect from someone who was also actively competing in muay thai for a number of years, and so there is a risk that’s going to catch up with him quickly at this stage in his career.

The 31-year-old Torres has a formidable record as a fast-finisher, with 16 of his 17 career wins coming in the opening round. He’s an aggressive, high-volume fighter who has fast hands and solid kicks, but is also just as willing to take his opponents down and work for a submission stoppage, with 7 to his name so far. On the downside, all three of Torres losses have come just as quickly within the first five minutes, including two via submission and one via strikes. In total that means Torres has fought beyond the opening round just once in his entire career, claiming a narrow split-decision win all the way back in 2018.

Torres is the fresher fighter and will be a real challenge to deal with early in the fight, but I still think Fiziev is the superior technician on the feet, while he also isn’t easy to take down, and has far more experience going the distance over three of five rounds. As such I’ll take him to earn a decision victory here.

Rafael Fiziev win by decision

Bet Now

Shara Magomedov vs. Michel Pereira Prediction

Shara Magomedov has gone 5-1 in the UFC so far and now fights Michel Pereira, whose split-decision win last time out broke a three-fight losing slump.

Aside from the failing to solve the unique striking puzzle presented by Michael ‘Venom’ Page over a year ago, Magomedov has been able to put together a solid winning record in the Octagon. The 32-year-old is a high-volume striker who revels in rifling through his dynamic and versatile repertoire of techniques that bring all eight limbs into play. That makes him unpredictable and there’s been real signs of creativity at times, such as his double-spinning backfist KO of Armen Petrosyan, while his timing is also good too, particularly with his knees, which have proven to be a big threat. Magomedov is less convincing defensively, but he is durable, while he’s shown little interest in wrestling and mat work despite hailing from Dagestan.

It’s perhaps no coincidence that these two fighters have been paired together as like Magomedov, Pereira is known as one of the most dynamic, creative and unpredictable strikers in the Octagon. Truth be told, Pereira took it to another level early in his UFC run with his acrobatic, Capoeira influenced jumping and spinning techniques that looked like something out of a movie. The problem was that these low-percentage moves weren’t finding as much success for him at the UFC level as on the regional circuit, and so he’d just end up rapidly burning through his energy reserves. To his credit, Pereira was able to adapt and reign in his wilder, energetic instincts in favor of a more composed, disciplined approach on the feet, while also showing a decent offensive wrestling game too. That led to an eight-fight winning streak spread between 170lbs and 185lbs, but by the second-half of 2024 he suddenly started to go off-the-boil, looking out-of-sorts while suffering three defeats, including two by strikes. He has since edged out a narrow decision win over Zachary Reese, but it wasn’t decisive enough to suggest that he’s now getting back on form.

If both fighters just look to outdo each other with flashy techniques then this could be quite a spectacle, but that’s not really Pereira’s game these days. Pereira’s recent inconsistency is a concern though, and given that question marks remain over his durability and cardio at times I’ll take Magomedov to be the more active striker over three rounds to win by decision.

Shara Magomedov to win by decision

Bet Now

Nazim Sadykhov vs. Matheus Camilo Prediction

Nazim Sadykhov went five fights unbeaten at the start of his UFC run before suffering a TKO loss to Fares Ziam last time out. Now he goes up against Matheus Camilo, who has gone 1-1 since arriving a year ago.

The 32-year-old Sadykhov’s bright start in the Octagon included stoppage wins against the likes of Ismael Bonfim, Nicolas Motta and Terrence McKinney. That was part of an ongoing trend as Sadykhov’s solid striking technique, footwork and pressure has resulted in eight of his 11 career wins coming via strikes, with two others being by submission. Last time out he found the going tougher against Ziam though, who used his size advantage to best him from range, while also managing to outwrestle him at times too.

The 25-year-old Camilo arrived in the UFC with a 9-2 record and lost his debut by submission, but then earned his first win in the Octagon against ageing veteran Viacheslav Borschev by unanimous decision. Camilo has a tendency to be a low-output striker, but he does have respectable boxing ability on the outside, decent power and will look for low kicks too. It’s a style that means he doesn’t eat too many shots, but he doesn’t have the best wrestling and despite having a couple of submission wins, all three of his losses have been by submission.

I think this is a fight where Sadykhov can get back to winning ways as he has the edge in the striking department and a more sizeable advantage on the mat too, which should be enough to help him navigate to a win by decision.

Nazim Sadykhvov to win by decision

Bet Now

Asu Almabayev vs. Charles Johnson Prediction

Asu Almabayev comes in off back-to-back victories to fight Charles Johnson, who has been alternating between wins and losses in his last five fights.

The 32-year-old Almabayev is an experienced fighter with a very respectable 23-3 record that includes a 6-1 UFC campaign so far. Almabayev isn’t the biggest flyweight, but he’s physically strong, well-conditioned and has a solid set of skills. He’s reasonably capable on the feet, albeit without much of a finishing threat, but is at his best when he’s using his relentless wrestling, with fast entries and good control on top. From there he can work for a submission finish, but is also content to just grind out a decision victory too.

The 35-year-old Johnson’s UFC run has been inconsistent, going 8-6 overall, but he has picked up some good wins along the way, including KO’ing current flyweight champ Joshua Van a couple of years ago. Johnson is a big, athletic flyweight and will have a 5″ height and reach advantage over his opponent on Saturday night. He’s primarily a striker who doesn’t have the most dazzling technique, but does possess good speed, solid power and is generally durable, though he did suffer his first ever TKO loss against Alex Perez back in January. Johnson can wrestle too, and did show some submission capability early in his career, but it’s been five years since his last one.

I’d give Johnson the striking edge here and his size advantage will help in that regard, but I think Almabayev’s tireless wrestling will be the difference-maker here and enable him to grind out a decision victory.

Asu Almabayev to win by decision

Bet Now

Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferreira Prediction

Ikram Aliskerov won back-to-back fights last year and now faces Brunno Ferreira, who was KO’d last time out, but was on a three-fight winning streak before that.

The 33-year-old Aliskerov has compiled an overall career record of 17-2 so far, including going 4-1 in the UFC. The fact that his two losses came by 1st round KO could be considered a concern, though you have to factor in that they came against two former UFC middleweight champions in Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker. Aliskerov is a decorated Sambo fighter with good all-round ability, and he’ll have a 2″ height and 4″ reach advantage on Saturday night. His hard-hitting, high-volume striking has been a focal point during his time in the UFC so far, delivering three 1st round finishes. He’s also a physically strong 185lb’er with good wrestling and conditioning, while he also had a few wins by kimura submission just prior to joining the UFC.

Known as ‘The Hulk’, the 33-year-old Ferreira is a physically jacked middleweight with an aggressive striking style that’s based more on power punches than clean technique. Meanwhile he also has a judo background to aid his takedown options, and can be a solid threat via submissions as well as ground-and-pound. Ferreira has a strong finishing record wherever the fight goes, with 14 of his 15 wins coming via either strikes (9) or submission (5). It’s a live-by-the-sword, die-by-the-sword approach though as all three of his losses in the UFC have come inside the distance too, including two by KO and one via submission.

Both fighters are able to compete wherever the fight goes here. Neither has the best defense on the feet, but I do think Aliskerov has better technique to compliment his power, and has the deeper gas tank too, so I’ll take him to claim a 2nd round TKO finish.

Ikram Aliskerov to win by TKO in Rd2

Bet Now

Abusupiyan Magomedov vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk Prediction

Abus Magomedov’s saw a three-fight winning streak halted by a submission loss last time out and now fights Michael Oleksiejczuk, who has won his last three fights.

A former PFL middleweight tournament finalist back in 2018, the 35-year-old Magomedov was already an experienced fighter with nearly 30 fights to his name before joining the UFC in 2022. He’s only gone 4-3 in the UFC so far though and not particularly managed to stand out from the crowd, but it should be noted his three defeats were to fighters who are all currently ranked in the Top 6 at 185lbs. Magomedov is a good sized middleweight who has competent kickboxing fundamentals and solid power, albeit without being the most active striker. He’ll frequently look to use his wrestling to hunt down takedowns and will look for submission opportunities on the mat. His cardio has been a little unconvincing at times though, and a surprising submission loss to striker Joe Pyfer last time out was the third of his career.

Oleksiejczuk is a pressure-heavy, aggressive striker with finishing power who will try to stop his opponents early, and has a long list of 1st round victories over the course of his career. The 31-year-old falls into the same trap as a lot of others who indulge in that style though as he’s suspect defensively, becomes less of a threat as the fight goes on, and is also weaker on the mat, with six of his nine defeats coming via submission, while his solitary win via submission came a decade ago.

It’s possible that Magomedov gets dragged into an early fire-fight here that might not work out in his favor, but if he commits to his wrestling then I think he can gain control of the fight and work his way to a 2nd round submission finish.

Abus Magomedov to win by submission in Rd2

Bet Now

UFC Fight Night 280: Fiziev vs. Torres Prelims

(Predicted winners in bold)

Farman Hasanov vs. Eric Nolan
Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev vs. Julius Walker
Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Andrey Pulyaev
Kaan Ofli vs. Javier Reyes
Daniil Donchenko vs. Theodor Berggren
Bekzat Almakhan vs. Jean Matsumoto
Tahir Abdullayev vs. Jefferson Nascimento

MMA Writer

Ross Cole

Ross Cole is one of the most prolific mixed martial arts writers in the world.

Having written more than 22,000 MMA news stories for MMA Insight, which he founded in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts.

Few people know the UFC and the sport of MMA like Ross, and he has built a solid reputation for being one of the best MMA tipsters in the world.

You can read more of Ross's work at MMAInsight.com.