Preview: UFC Fight Night 235 ‘Dolidze vs. Imavov’

Middleweights

Aliaskhab Khizriev (12-0, 1-0 UFC) vs. Makhmud Muradov (26-8, 4-2 UFC)

ODDS: Khizriev (-180), Muradov (+150)

It is nice to see Khizriev make his second UFC appearance here, since the main obstacle for the Russian has been his ability to actually make it to the cage. Khizriev scored a 50-second win on the 2020 edition of Dana White’s Contender Series, which fit in with the rest of his career. “The Black Wolf” made a habit of quickly overwhelming opponents on the regional scene, often hopping on a rear-naked choke in the process. While he has some clear prowess on the ground, Khizriev is clearly an uncomfortable striker in the face of resistance, which came through in his lone UFC fight to date against Denis Tiuliulin. Khizriev had some rough moments against a tough scrapper but did eventually find his way to the mat to score the submission in the second round. That came two years ago, so perhaps Khizriev has put in some additional work during his long layoff, since Muradov is an interesting next test.

Representing Uzbekistan, Muradov came to the UFC in 2019 with a fun game based around plugging away with his boxing. “Mach” was more than content to stay elusive in an ugly fight if needed, but he could also pop off some vicious finishes, like his knockout of Trevor Smith. His momentum came to a shocking halt against Gerald Meerschaert in 2021, when he suddenly buckled under the Roufusport rep’s pressure, and a wrestling-heavy loss to Caio Borralho in 2022 suddenly left him badly in need of a win. He got that victory in a complete performance over Bryan Barberena in July, as Muradov showed an ability to effectively pivot to his own wrestling, but that was also a fight where he was at a clear size and athleticism advantage. It will be interesting to see how much of that carries over to this fight against Khizriev. Muradov could just keep his counterpart at range for 15 minutes—or less, if he can keep tagging the Russian at will—but the bet is that Khizriev can stay dedicated enough to pressure to make him uncomfortable. Given his chops on the mat, that moment might be enough for Khizriev to blow the fight wide open. The pick is Khizriev via second-round submission.

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Dolidze vs. Imavov
Carneiro vs. Dober
Brown vs. Salikhov
Silva vs. Araujo
Khizriev vs. Muradov
Urbina vs. Radtke
The Prelims