Javy Ayala vs. Valentin Moldavsky
When Ayala last competed, he picked up the biggest win in his career — a second round TKO of former UFC champion Frank Mir. The 31-year-old lost some momentum by not returning to action for over 14 months due to two fights against Vitaly Minakov being cancelled due to an illness and VISA issues. Ayala has struggled with inconsistency while part of the Bellator roster. He has defeated the likes of Mir and Sergei Kharitonov, yet he has fallen to Cheick Kongo and Roy Nelson. Despite tipping the scales at the heavyweight limit of 265 pounds, the California native is surprisingly a very athletic heavyweight. He displays this by attacking his foes behind flying knees and quick head kicks. “Eye Candy” has fast hands and does well to attack by throwing combinations. His straight right hand is his best weapon, but the 31-year-old throws a lot of kicks to the body and legs, as well. He does have some defensive weaknesses, such as dropping his hands often and keeping his chin up high in the air. Ayala loves to work in the clinch, where he dispatches crushing knees and elbows. Despite having a wrestling background, Ayala struggles at stopping takedowns and working back to his feet when he is taken down. While he isn’t much of a wrestler, he does have four submission wins on his record.
Like Ayala, Moldavsky also enters this fight on the heels of his biggest win — a decision win over former Bellator light heavyweight title challenger Linton Vassell. The 28-year-old also has a big win over Karl Albrektsson. The Ukrainian is the star pupil of former Pride Fighting Championships heavyweight king Fedor Emelianenko. Moldavsky attempts to mirror his striking game after his legendary mentor – he is a very athletic heavyweight who throws fast looping hooks which pack some nice power. Like his opponent, he has the propensity to hang his hands low while giving his opponent a large target with his chin up in the air. While he has shown improvements in his striking, his ground game remains his trump card. The RIZIN Fighting Federation veteran is a former Combat Sambo World Champion and a Judo blackbelt. He is often able to drain his adversaries’ gas tanks by wearing them out in the clinch. The European will get the fight to the ground by either timing his drop-step entries or by catching a kick and tripping his foe on the canvas. Despite having three submission wins already, Moldavsky looks to control the top position and punish his opponent with ground strikes before trying to lock in a submission. He was surprisingly taken down by Vassell several times in his last fight but he proved nearly impossible to hold down. He either scrambled quickly back to his feet or swept Vassell to his back.
This fight is a much closer matchup than the current betting lines would suggest. At the present moment, Moldavsky is a massive favorite at -700. Ayala has more high-level experience between the two and has shown continued speed and power to make him a serious threat. Despite believing there is serious betting value on the underdog, I am still picking the Ukrainian to get his hand raised. He has a huge advantage in the wrestling department, which I predict he will use to cruise to a victory. Give me Moldavsky by unanimous decision.