Welterweight
NR | Abubakar Nurmagomedov (15-3-1, 0-1 UFC) vs. NR | Jared Gooden (17-5, 0-1 UFC)Hopefully, things go better for Nurmagomedov this time around. The younger cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov, he came into the UFC with some high expectations, both due to his last name and his own skills. Like everyone out of the former lightweight champion’s camp, Nurmagomedov has the layered wrestling and grappling game to take the air out of his opponents as needed, even if he obviously does not have the elite-level athleticism that made his cousin one of the greatest fighters of all-time. The style and skills have worked for others in the UFC, which made it a shock when Nurmagomedov lost his UFC debut via submission, quickly getting caught in a triangle choke from David Zawada. Given some of Nurmagomedov’s other losses while coming up the ranks, defensive awareness has to be a worry at this point, which brings some excitement to this fight. Gooden certainly earned his UFC shot with a strong resume on the regional scene, but there is some concern about how his approach translates up a level in competition. Gooden has some dangerous power, but he is a fairly stiff and straight-ahead striker who needs to be able to physically overwhelm his opponents. Given Nurmagomedov’s lapses, Gooden certainly has the proverbial puncher’s chance—as well as the knockout power to make good on it—but unless something goes terribly wrong for the Russian, Nurmagomedov should be able to cruise to a slow-paced win. The pick is Nurmagomedov via decision.
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