Preview: UFC Macau Prelims

Flyweights

Maheshate Hayisaer (10-3, 2-2 UFC) vs. Nikolas Motta (14-5, 2-2 UFC)

ODDS: Hayisaer (-205), Motta (+170)

This battle should bring some entertaining violence to the table. Motta was on the UFC’s radar for years, going as far back as a stint on “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” in 2015, before finally breaking through with a contract-earning win on the Contender Series in 2020. However, that just made his subsequent lack of success in the UFC all the more disappointing. He has always been a potent power puncher, but his one-dimensional approach has led to opponents being able to time his offense and hit some hard counters, with Motta not having the level of durability needed to stay in the fight. Motta was seemingly fighting for his job against top prospect Tom Nolan in January, and in a bit of catharsis, he was finally able to land the first blow in a battle of defensively void power strikers. Now carrying some momentum, the hope is that he can repeat that trick against Hayisaer. China’s Hayisaer was essentially a mystery man ahead of his 2021 appearance on the Contender Series, but he showed out when given the opportunity, impressing as a hard-hitting counterpuncher with a large frame for the division. Three years later, Hayisaer hasn’t evolved much, which is good news and bad news. It has meant he has eaten a lot of unnecessary offense and taken his lumps in some losses, but it has also made each of his fights quite entertaining. These two are going to slug it out in a race to a knockout, and while it’s essentially a coinflip, the Chinese fighter gets the benefit of the doubt in terms of having more diverse offense and a bit more durability. The pick is Hayisaer via first-round knockout.

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