Preview: UFC Fight Night 179 Prelims

Flyweights

Tagir Ulanbekov (10-1) vs. Bruno Silva (10-4-2)

ODDS: Ulanbekov (-370), Silva (+310)

Ulanbekov represents a strong addition to the UFC’s flyweight division, and he should be able to show why right out of the gate. Ulanbekov is a training partner of Khabib Nurmagomedov and a pupil of the lightweight champion’s late father, which certainly shows in his approach. He is a patient striker who looks for openings to implement a crushing wrestling game. As for Silva, the Brazilian has not shown much in his two UFC appearances. There are some interesting flashes, particularly in terms of Silva’s wrestling and grappling, but there is not enough aggression or connection between his skills to turn that into anything consistently successful. Even worse for Silva, those wrestling skills probably will not pay off much against Ulanbekov. This may be a bit of a grind, but this is the Russian’s fight to lose. The pick is Ulanbekov by third-round submission.