Middleweights
Mansur Abdul-Malik (6-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Dusko Todorovic (12-4, 3-4 UFC)The latest wave of Contender Series alumni is arriving, and Abdul-Malik is an interesting talent among the bunch. Like a lot of UFC newcomers in recent years, Abdul-Malik’s record consists of a lot of quick wins, but while there’s still the concern of how he holds up in deeper waters, it’s hard to argue with the results so far. He’s a clear powerhouse of an athlete with knockout power, and his collegiate wrestling background has led to his looking like a terror on the mat thanks to some brutal ground-and-pound. If nothing else, Abdul-Malik showed he can go two rounds in his Contender Series win—the first of his career to go multiple rounds—and he looks to further prove his mettle here against Todorovic.
Todorovic has been a solid fighter since his own win on the Contender Series in 2019, though Serbia’s “Thunder” has had trouble building much momentum during his time on the roster. Todorovic looked to have some potential as a bullying clinch fighter heading into his UFC debut, particularly since he had even overwhelmed Michel Pereira on the regional scene, but he has been physically outgunned in a lot of his trips to the Octagon—an issue made worse by him not having the durability to stand up to middleweight’s hardest hitters. As such, Todorovic’s fights usually sort themselves out in fairly short order. Either he’s able to play bully and win an ugly war, or he hits a physical wall and things quickly fall apart from there. Abdul-Malik is unproven enough that a Todorovic win wouldn’t be a shock, but this looks like the latter scenario. The pick is Abdul-Malik via first-round stoppage.
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Magny vs. Prates
De Ridder vs. Meerschaert
Sopai vs. Turcios
Robertson vs. Pinheiro
Abdul-Malik vs. Todorovic
The Prelims