Betting odds: Abdullaev (-120); Birth (+100)
In the opening bout, a last-minute addition, Azerbaijani prospect Abdullayev will try to ignite the Baku crowd against fellow UFC debutant Nascimento. Abdullaev is a well-travelled prospect in the most literal sense of the word (his last five fights took place in five different countries) who has had some good wins but always seems to lose at the worst possible times.
Aptly nicknamed “Tank,” he is a muscular, powerful lightweight with an unconventional approach to his fitness. He tends to reach out and grab it with his lead hand and then use a good front kick as a sort of alternate jab. He both needs to engage in close combat like an undersized lightweight and wants to like a fighter who goes all out, where he can drag his opponent to the canvas, land strikes from the ground and look for big submissions from the top.
It is difficult to assess Abdullayev’s development because, after five or six years of fighting a very established list in Central Asia and the Middle East, Abdullayev has recently faced some grim opposition. His last two wins – the fights that theoretically prompted the UFC to sign him – saw Abdullaev defeat an opponent on a five-fight losing streak who was so stunned that he choked him out with a wrong-side arm triangle, effectively forcing him to submit, and then dragged his 18-3 record into a 1-1 opponent in a fight that many North American commissions might have refused to sanction.
Nascimento is an even bigger mystery than Abdullaev. How mysterious? In nearly six years of previewing every UFC card, nearly 250 events and over 3,000 fights, I believe this is the first time I’ve addressed the press without being able to verify a fighter’s date of birth. Based on the comments at Legacy Fighting Alliance where he won and defended the interim belt, I’m guessing he’s about 26 years old, but we’ll all find out together this week.
At this stage of his development, Nascimento is a raw talent with some physical attributes. He is also stocky, muscular and athletic, and he is effective as an orthodox brawler. While his main striking approach is that of a textbook “Brazilian regional scrapper”, he has a good tactical quirk: he’s always on the lookout for sneaky takedowns, be it a reactive level change or simply attempting a one-legged takedown. While some are serious takedown attempts and others are more like feints, both are effective at keeping opponents guessing.
The odds of this fight are close to zero, which is probably quite appropriate considering neither of these fighters are really known quantities. This is the kind of UFC rookie vs. rookie fight that is especially difficult to predict because each fighter could be the best fighter the other has faced. I’m leaning towards the Brazilian as the (probably?) younger fighter with superior natural skills and, thanks to his last LFA run, the best recent schedule. By decision of the judges, Nascimento was chosen.
Go »
Hasanov vs. Nolan
Yahyaev vs. Walker
Ruziboev vs. Pulyaev
Offley vs. Reyes
Donchenko vs Berggren
Almahan vs. Matsumoto
Abdullaev vs. Nascimento