UFC 242: Khabib vs Poirier - Odds and Predictions

Where: The Arena – Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE

When: Saturday, September 7, 2PM EST

How (TV): Pay-per-view, UFC Fight Pass

(C) Khabib Nurmagomedov (27-0) vs (IC) Dustin Poirier (25-5-1) – Lightweight division

This Saturday, September 7 sees two big returns. The first is the UFC’s return to Abu Dhabi after almost more than four years away. The second is the return of lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov to the octagon after almost a year away due to suspension. Nurmagomedov will clash in the main event of UFC 242 against interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier to crown the undisputed champion.

The last time we saw Khabib, 30, in action was on October 6, 2018 when he fought former lightweight champion Conor McGregor at UFC 229, which is still the most-bought pay-per-view of all time for the UFC. Nurmagomedov defended his belt in the fight, defeating McGregor with a neck-crank submission in the fourth round. After the bout, however, all hell broke loose which culminated in Khabib leaping over the cage to attack a member of McGregor’s team. Both parties were handed substantial fines and suspensions. Prior to the McGregor fight, Khabib had won the vacated lightweight title against Al Iaquinta in a five-round unanimous decision victory on April 7, 2018.

”The Eagle” stands at 5 feet, 10 inches tall and has a reach of 70 inches. He trains in his home of Dagestan with his father Abdulmanap and in the United States at the American Kickboxing Academy with Javier Mendez. The undefeated fighter has a black belt in judo and international master of sport credentials in judo, sambo, pankration, and army hand-to-hand combat. He has been active in mixed martial arts since 2008 and is currently ranked as number two on the UFC pound-for-pound list.

 

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Champion vs Champion I’ll prove I want it more #ufc242 #paidinfull #abudhabi

A post shared by Dustin Poirier (@dustinpoirier) on Aug 2, 2019 at 9:02am PDT

Dustin Poirier, 30, is coming off the most impressive win of his career. After going 4-0 with one no-contest in his last five fights, Poirier was matched up with featherweight champion Max Holloway, who had moved up for the chance of winning a second division title. The two had matched up once before in 2012 – a bout that Poirier won by submission. This time around the result would be the same, albeit by unanimous decision. Poirier ended Holloway’s 13-fight winning streak to become the interim lightweight champion.

”The Diamond” stands one inch shorter than his opponent at 5 feet, 9 inches tall, but will have a two inch reach advantage in the bout. Active in MMA since 2009, Poirier trains out of Coconut Creek, Florida with the American Top Team gym. Poirier has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and sits at number eight on the UFC pound-for-pound list.

If you are in New Jersey you can bet on UFC 242 on 888Sport and FoxBet. Good luck!

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Edson Barboza vs Paul Felder – Lightweight division

The co-main event of the evening sees two more lightweights go toe-to-toe in a rematch of their 2015 bout – a bout that Barboza won by unanimous decision.

Edson Barboza, 33, has had a rough go in the UFC lately, having only a 1-3 record over his last four fights. Barboza had lost two in a row against lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Kevin Lee before bouncing back with a spectacular TKO victory over Dan Hooker. Barboza battled Justin Gaethje in his last fight on March 30 of this year. Barboza was knocked out in the first round.

”Junior” stands at 5 feet, 11 inches tall and possesses a reach of 75 inches. Known for his muay thai and taekwondo striking, the Brazilian fighter splits his time training with Ricardo Almeida BJJ and American Top Team. He has a black belt in taekwondo, a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and a black prajied in muay thai. He has been active in MMA since 2009 and has the number seven ranking in the UFC lightweight division. He has also won fight of the night bonuses seven times in the UFC.

Paul Felder, 35, hopes to avenge his 2015 loss this Saturday night against Barboza. Felder has only fought once this year, and for good reason. On February 17, Felder faced off against James Vick. Felder won the fight via unanimous decision but at some point in the third and final round, Felder had collapsed one of his lungs. He has been recovering ever since. Opposite of Barboza, Felder has gone 4-1 in his last five fights, beating names such as Mike Perry and Charles Oliveira.

”The Irish Dragon” also stands at 5 feet, 11 inches but with a reach of 70.5 inches gives up a 4.5 inch reach advantage to Barboza. Also known for his taekwondo striking, Felder possesses a second-degree black belt in taekwondo, a black belt in shotokan karate, and a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Felder trains with the Roufusport gym and has been competing in professional MMA since 2011. He is currently ranked number ten in the UFC lightweight division.

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Islam Makhachev (17-1) vs Davi Ramos (10-2) – Lightweight division

Islam Makhachev, 27, is part of the same fight camp as lightweight champion Khabib. Currently on a five-fight winning streak, Makhachev last fought in Russia on April 20 of this year. Makhachev fought Arman Tsarukyan and defeated him via three-round unanimous decision. Both men were awarded a fight of the night bonus for their efforts. Other victims of Makhachev’s winning streak include Kajan Johnson, Gleason Tibau, and Nik Lentz.

The Russian fighter has a recorded height of 5 feet, 10 inches and a reach of 70.5 inches. As previously mentioned, Makhachev trains in Dagestan with Khabib and his father and at the AKA gym when in the United States. Like Khabib, he is also known for his wrestling and judo but also has an international master of sport in sambo. He has fought MMA since 2010 and rounds out the top-15 ranked fighter of the UFC lightweight division.

 

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@alexei06 ?? #Repost @tndubai ・・・@mf4blindados On the 7th of September will be the 3rd UFC event in the country, we are honored to be the only academy from the UAE to be part of the 3 events @tndubai @teamnogueirarecreio God bless you @daviramos_ufc ???? #ufc242

A post shared by Davi Ramos “TazMania “? (@daviramos_ufc) on Aug 28, 2019 at 3:55am PDT

Davi Ramos, 32, is on a winning streak of his own, winning his last four fights in the UFC since losing his debut. Ramos’ last fight came on May 18 of this year when he fought Austin Hubbard. Ramos won the fight by unanimous decision. The three other fights of his win streak were all won by rear-naked choke – two of them in the first round.

”The Tasmanian Devil” stands at 5 feet, 6 inches tall, meaning he will have a four-inch height disadvantage. With that said, he will have a 1.5 inch reach advantage over Makhachev. Born in Brazil, Ramos trains out of Rio de Janeiro with Team Nogueira where he has a third-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Cesar Guimaraes. He has been active in MMA since 2010.

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Curtis Blaydes (11-2-1) vs Shamil Abdurakhimov (20-4) – Heavyweight division

The only main card fight not taking place in the lightweight division ironically pits two heavyweights against one another as Curtis Blaydes returns to action to face Shamil Abdurakhimov.

Curtis Blaydes, 28, recently had a five-fight winning streak bookended by losses to Francis Ngannou. The most recent of those losses came on November 24, 2018 where he lost to Ngannou by first-round TKO. However Blaydes bounced back in his most recent performance. Blaydes took on Justin Willis earlier this year on March 23 and defeated him via unanimous decision. Blaydes is 6-2 with one no-contest since joining the UFC.

”Razor” stands at 6 feet, 4 inches tall. He has a reach of 80 inches. The American-born fighter, who already possesses NJCAA wrestling credentials, trains with the Elevation Fight Team in Colorado. He has only been active in MMA since 2014 and is currently ranked at number four in the heavyweight division.

Father time won’t necessarily be on Shamil Abdurakhimov’s side in this fight as the 38-year-old goes up against a Blaydes ten years younger than him. But, with that said, Shamil is currently riding a three-fight winning streak. Since losing to Derrick Lewis in 2016, Shamil has defeated Chase Sherman, Andrei Arlovski, and, most recently, Marcin Tybura. He fought Tybura on April 20 of this year and defeated him by second-round TKO.

”Abrek” stands one-inch shorter than Blaydes at 6 feet, 3 inches and he also gives up four inches of reach to his opponent. The Russian-born fighter, who has been active in MMA since 2008, has a master of sport in sanda and in kickboxing. He trains with the Fighting Eagle team in his home country and is currently ranked at number nine in the UFC heavyweight division.

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Mairbek Taisumov (27-5) vs Carlos Diego Ferreira (15-2) – Lightweight division

 

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It’s official, see you soon in Abu Dhabi In sha ALLAH ?⏳ Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh ☝?#Taisumov #BerkutMMA #UFC242 #UFCAbuDhabi #AbuDhabi

A post shared by Mairbek Taisumov Official. (@taisumov155) on Jun 16, 2019 at 11:45pm PDT

By all accounts, this card should produce fireworks as some of the top lightweights in the world do battle in Abu Dhabi and this fight should be no different.

Mairbek Taisumov, 31, has won six fights in a row since his last loss which came back in 2016. His last fight was on September 15, 2018. He fought Desmond Green and defeated him by unanimous decision. His previous three fights before that had all been knockout finished for Taisumov and all of those finishes earned him performance of the night bonuses. His two fights prior to those were both TKO victories.

”Beckan” stands at 5 feet, 9 inches tall and has a reach of 73 inches. The Russian-born fighter trains out of Austria at Vienna MMA and also spends time at Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand. He has been active in mixed martial arts since 2007 and is a former M-! Global competitor.

Carlos Diego Ferreira, 34, last fought on February 23 earlier this year. He faced off against Rustam Khabilov and won the fight by unanimous decision. He is currently on a four-fight win streak that has seen him garner victories over the likes of Jared Gordon and Olivier Aubin-Mercier. His last loss came in 2015 against current interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier.

Like Taisumov, Ferriera stands at 5 feet, 9 inches tall but will have a one-inch reach advantage over his opponent. The Brazilian-born fighter trains out of the United States with Team Ferriera and Fortis. He has a third-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and has been competing in MMA since 2011.

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