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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight strikers Shara Magomedov vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk will collide this weekend (Sat., Aug. 3, 2024) at UFC Abu Dhabi inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

This is the rare example of a last-second fight swap being an overall improvement. A Nick Diaz fight in 2024? Nobody needs to see that. Magomedov and Oleksiejczuk both fought in June and were more than willing to jump back into action on short notice. “Bullet” is two fights deep into his UFC career, and the kickboxer has already built up a fair bit of hype thanks to his flashy style. Oleksiejczuk, meanwhile, has proven himself a top-tier action fighter, but holes in his grappling game are responsible for three losses in his last four fights.

Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:

Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images

Magomedov vs. Oleksiejczuk Betting Odds

• Shara Magomedov victory: -238
• Shara Magomedov via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
• Shara Magomedov via submission: TBD
• Shara Magomedov via decision: TBD
• Michal Oleksiejczuk victory: +195
• Michal Oleksiejczuk via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
• Michal Oleksiejczuk via submission: TBD
• Michal Oleksiejczuk via decision: TBD
• Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Magomedov Wins

Magomedov is one of the most unique strikers on the roster. He kicks very fast and very actively for a Middleweight, and he has a deep arsenal of different kicks. His wrestling and grappling appear to still be developing, but at the moment, “Bullet” is one of the more standout 185-pound prospects.

Range will be key here, as this is a kicker vs. puncher match up. Magomedov wants this fight to take place from a further distance than Oleksiejczuk, who will surely be trying to press and cut off the cage. A big factor in Magomedov’s ability to keep distance will be intercepting shots, meaning strikes that hurt Oleksiejczuk more the harder the Polish fighter steps into them.

Fortunately, Magomedov is quite good at timing intercepting strikes. Front kicks and knees should be major weapons for him here, and each successful land helps convince Oleksiejczuk to ease off the pressure. Once that happens, Magomedov will be able to kick more freely, and his job gets progressively easier.

Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Oleksiejczuk Wins

Oleksiejczuk has excellent boxing. Even at Light Heavyweight, the Polish striker was putting foes on the floor despite being fairly small for 185-pounds! The problem is that his grappling is genuinely bad, meaning that getting submitted will always be a serious concern.

Good thing Shara Magomedov is the Dagestani fighter that doesn’t wrestle!

Oleksiejczuk is more than accustomed to pressuring his opponents. He cuts off the cage well and punishes them with combinations up and down the body. If nothing else, the Southpaw understands how he wins fights, and his usual approach fits well to taking on a kicker like Magomedov.

One adjustment Oleksiejczuk could make is to finish his combinations with kicks. He may be more of a boxer, but it’s not that hard to add a low kick to the end of his punching combos! Magomedov moves laterally a lot, so if Oleksiejczuk is able to chop his legs a bit while he’s shuffling sideways, that will help slow the Russian down and leave him more vulnerable to punches.

Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Magomedov vs. Oleksiejczuk Prediction

This is a difficult fight to predict, more of a pick ‘em in my eyes than the odds suggest.

Magomedov has hype … but is he any good? Beating a shopworn Bruno Silva and ill-prepared Antonio Trocoli means very little to me. Obviously, he’s quite athletic and has great kicking skills, but it’s also clear that he doesn’t yet have the fully-formed mixed martial arts (MMA) game necessary to be an elite Middleweight.

At the same time, Oleksiejczuk is a clearly flawed fighter himself … but not in a way Magomedov has the skills to capitalize upon? This is a full-on kickboxing match, and Oleksiejczuk typically wins those. Hell, just a month ago he was knocking around Kevin Holland before he fell into an armbar because he floored “Trailblazer.”

In short, it’s hard to be overly confident in either man for the reasons explained above. Despite Magomedov’s likely higher ceiling overall, the style match up favors the Polish puncher, who likely can get inside and land damaging shots.

Prediction: Oleksiejczuk victory (+195)

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Abu Dhabi fight card right here, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ABC/ESPN (simulcast on ESPN+) at 3 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Abu Dhabi: “Sandhagen vs. Umar” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Umar Nurmagomedov believes he has some of the best grappling and wrestling in the UFC bantamweight division, but if he wants to be the best, he knows there’s at least one person who could also challenge for that moniker.

Top-ranked contender Merab Dvalishvili averages nearly seven takedowns for every 15 minutes he spends in the octagon, and that’s likely a strategy he’ll employ when he battles Sean O’Malley for the bantamweight title at UFC 306 on Sept. 14. Dvalishvili enters the fight coming off of 10 straight wins after making a steady ascension up the rankings at 135 pounds.

As impressive as Dvalishvili has been during that run, Nurmagomedov believes the 33-year-old should have faced a tougher challenge when Dvalishvili beat Henry Cejudo via decision in his most recent outing in February.

“I don’t know why Cejudo showed a very bad fight [against Dvalishvili],” Nurmagomedov told MMA Fighting. “I think he went down because of age, three years without a fight, but I think if they [would have fought] when Cejudo was in his prime, I think it’s going to be a different result.”

That being said, Nurmagomedov has been impressed by Dvalishvili in recent years, especially the way he employs his wrestling and grappling in all of his fights. Dvalishvili’s ability to showcase relentless pressure while spamming takedowns has allowed him to take out several top-ranked opponents, including a lopsided win over ex-champion Petr Yan.

While his attention is focused on Cory Sandhagen in their main event fight at UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday, Nurmagomedov always keeps a close eye on potential competition.

“Right now, Merab is doing very well,” Nurmagomedov said. “His wrestling is very good. You don’t know when he’s going for a takedown or when he’s going to punch you. He mixes both very good. But with me, I don’t know how he’s going to do because I have good wrestling too. I can strike. I can give him one leg all day and he won’t take me down. We’re going to see.

“It’s going to make sense [for us to fight] if he beats O’Malley. Right now we have a contender fight with me and Cory.”

Nurmagomedov believes a win over Sandhagen makes him the No. 1 contender in the division, and he welcomes the chance to face Dvalishvili if the Georgian wrestler becomes champion.

The only problem is Nurmagomedov isn’t convinced Dvalishvili gets through Sean O’Malley when they meet in the UFC 306 main event. One thing Nurmagomedov knows for certain, however, is that Dvalishvili needs to pour everything into that fight because he may not get another chance like that again.

“If Merab loses, he’s never going to fight for the title again,” Nurmagomedov said. “He’s 34 or 35, and I don’t know many times or how many years he has to fight for a win streak to fight for the title. But I want a fight with him. I don’t care. Him or O’Malley or someone else, I want to fight with everyone.

“[O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili is] difficult for a prediction. It’s like, who’s going to do his job? If Merab will do his job with takedowns, hold him, dominate on the ground, he’s going to win. If O’Malley doesn’t let him come close and he uses his boxing and kicks, he’s going to win. It depends on who is going to prepare better. I can’t say 100 percent who is going to win. O’Malley’s fight with Aljamain Sterling, everybody thought it was going to be an easy fight for Aljamain. Everybody was waiting on how he was going to choke [O’Malley], but O’Malley knocked him out. That’s why it’s difficult. It’s a very good fight for fans and for me too.”

If Dvalishvili gets the job done, Nurmagomedov anticipates an intriguing fight between the two best wrestlers in the division, but he shows no fear matching his takedowns against anyone in the UFC.

“I think this question is open,” Nurmagomedov said. “We’ll know this when I fight with Merab. Because he has a lot of takedowns in his fights and I have many takedowns in my fights. We’re going to see. I hope we’re going to check this. I hope I’m going to fight with Merab and we’re going to know who is best.”

Nurmagomedov also praised O’Malley for the job he’s done as champion by knocking out Sterling to win the belt and then dominating Marlon Vera in his first title defense.

While O’Malley hasn’t exactly been kind in return, Nurmagomedov can’t help but give the the champ his flowers for proving himself time and time again in the octagon.

“He’s a good fighter,” Nurmagomedov said of O’Malley. “He shows this with Petr Yan and he showed this with ‘Chito’ Vera too. He’s a good striker. For bantamweight, he’s tall and he has good technique. He deserves to be champion.

“He beat these guys. We can’t say it was a very close fight and he won because judges made a mistake. He’s dominating and he’s fighting good. I think he’s the champion.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Manny Pacquiao, the boxing legend, apparently will be facing the young star Ryan Garcia. The boxing match was announced by ‘King Ryan’ himself and is to be taking place in the fourth quarter of 2024. Tokyo, Japan, in association with RIZIN, and an exhibition are all likely but nothing is yet confirmed.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Ryan Garcia

I am fighting Manny Pacquiao guys, let’s get it.” While on a live stream, ‘King Ryan’ explained that this match will be going down later this year but definitely in 2024. “It’s coming soon, I’m trying to work on [a date]. It will be at end of the year for sure. So, I’m trying to get more focused, stop drinking, and stop doing a lot of the s*it I was doing.”

“I was [in Japan figuring out] a fight date with Manny Pacquiao.” Ryan Garcia said, “Yeah, I’m going to fight him. This is the first time that it’s ever been announced. Yeah, it’s an exhibition.” [H/t BJPenn.com]

This past week, the Filipino-born athlete Manny Pacquiao took an exhibition boxing match against K-1 Kickboxing world champion Rukiya Anpo. It was officially declared a draw, but Japan’s Anpo did very well in the match utilizing his size advantage. During the Super Rizin 3 event, after the ‘Pac-Man’ fight, Ryan Garcia got in the ring and called out Manny Pacquiao and Rukiya Anpo.

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Ryan Garcia

The Californian Ryan Garcia is a professional boxer with an impressive career for his young age. After an amazing amateur career, he turned pro and earned multiple boxing world titles. Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis served ‘King Ryan’ his first professional loss.

Controversy has been chasing the 25-year-old boxer. In his most recent match, he missed weight and then failed a drug test. Garcia has also been outspoken about people who are LGBTQ and was arrested for property damage. Plus, he was accused of being abusive by his ex-wife.

Manny Pacquiao

All-time great Manny Pacquiao has had a legendary boxing career. The Filipino striker has picked up multiple world titles across several weight classes throughout his storied professional record. With 62 victories, he earned titles in the WBC, IBF, WBO, WBA, and many more. ‘Pac Man’ was celebrated for his aggressive knockout style and was elevated to national hero status in the home Philippines.

Since stopping professional boxing, Manny Pacquiao has remained active in exhibition matches, such as we just saw in Super Rizin 3. Additionally, he is known as a singer and politician.

LowKickMMA.com

A UFC heavyweight fighter is set to remain on the sidelines after violating the promotion’s anti-doping policy whilst already suspended.

Hamdy Abdelwahab, an Egyptian Greco-Roman wrestler-turned-mixed martial artist, made a successful Octagon debut on short notice at UFC 277 in July 2022. After moving to 5-0 with a win under Jorge Masvidal’s iKon FC banner, “The Hammer” signed with the sport’s leading promotion and outpointed Don’Tale Mayes.

But that result was later overturned to a no contest after Abdelwahab received a two-year ban from USADA. That ruling was owing to positive tests for the anabolic agent metenolone and its metabolite prior to his UFC debut, in addition to a tampering violation for not disclosing the banned substance ahead of joining USADA’s program.

The Egyptian’s suspension ended on July 30, but that won’t mark an eligibility to compete once again…

UFC’s Abdelwahab Set For Extended Spell On Sidelines After New Suspension

This week, Combat Sports Anti Doping (CSAD) — which replaced USADA as the body overseeing the UFC’s anti-doping program this year — announced that Abdelwahab has accepted another sanction for his second violation.

In a statement, CSAD revealed that the UFC heavyweight tested positive for exogenous testosterone in three separate tests on March 23, May 3, and May 23 this year. With Abdelwahab not being informed of the first failure and the third branded a product of residual amounts left from the first two, the failures were treated as one violation.

It was also noted that the Egyptian fighter provided evidence of a tainted supplement, something he failed to do in relation to the 2022 test. Such a fact would ordinarily result in a three-month ban, but with Abdelwahab already serving a suspension at the time of the latest failures, he’s been slapped with a six-month sanction.

With that, the 31-year-old will be eligible to return to competition on January 30, 2025, two and a half years on from his UFC debut.

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• Read More: Judge Rejects Settlement In UFC Antitrust Lawsuit & Schedules Jury Trial, UFC Releases Statement

Continue Reading UFC Heavyweight Gets Fresh Suspension After Violating Anti-Doping Policy While Already Serving 2-Year Ban at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Remember UFC 303? Just about a month ago, the card fell apart a half-dozen times, forcing unprecedented actions from the promotion. When Brian Ortega pulled out of his scheduled co-main event versus Diego Lopes on the day of the event, UFC turned to Las Vegas local Dan Ige to save the card.

Ige, who wasn’t scheduled to fight for another few weeks, weighed in and fought on just four hour’s notice. He went to war opposite Lopes — himself a short-notice replacement as well — and ultimately lost a competitive decision to the rising star. In the immediate aftermath, Ige was showered with love from the community and promised a major opportunity in his next fight.

He felt like a winner.

After the fight, both Lopes and Ige requested to fight at the Noche UFC event in the Las Vegas Sphere. Lopes received his wish and will face Brian Ortega next, but Ige didn’t make the cut. After the full fight card announcement, Ige reacted on social media graciously.

“A lot of people are upset at Dana or upset for me not being on the Sphere card,” Ige wrote. “I know it was a ‘promise’ but I believe there’s something bigger and better in store and I will have another fight this year. Thank you all for the love and support. We’re ending this year on a DUB!”

Now, Ige’s next match up has been announced. Per a report from MMAFighting, Ige will return to action opposite undefeated contender Lerone Murphy at UFC 308 inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on October 26, 2024. 6-0-1 inside the Octagon, Murphy has been rising up the ranks and most recently scored his first main event victory by decisioning Edson Barboza.

It’s a fun Featherweight fight between No. 14 and No. 11 in the 145-pound rankings, and overall, it’s a reasonable match up for both. At the same time, it’s hard to consider the match up a huge reward for Ige after saving a pay-per-view (PPV) event. Murphy is really good and not that well-known!

Hopefully, Ige has at least received a pay bump for his troubles.

Insomnia

Cory Sandhagen heard the critiques that he needs to be a more entertaining personality, and he’s taking action!

Tom Aspinall has come a long way.

A level of spine flexion I will never achieve.

Dana cannot contain his enthusiasm for his new Welterweight champion.

Charles Oliveira sparring footage is always so fun, “Do Bronx” is one of the most creative strikers in the business.

Spirit punch!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

It’s difficult to time and carries consequences if executed improperly, but a left liver kick under the right cross can be a devastating shot.

The early days of “El Pantera!”

I already know his opponents and their fans are so irate.

Random Land

New trolley problem just dropped.

Midnight Music: Ballad, 1999

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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