UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Torres Preview and Predictions

The UFC heads overseas this week as it returns to Azerbaijan for the second time. Headlining the event is a lightweight showdown as Rafael Fiziev clashes with Manuel Torres. A contender for several years, Fiziev has hit a rough patch in his career, losing four of his last five fights. Fiziev sits at No. 11 in the UFC’s lightweight rankings, while Torres occupies the No. 15 spot.

The co-main event pits two hard-charging middleweights against one another. Michel Pereira and Shara Magomedov are both dynamic fighters with unorthodox yet high-level striking skills. Pereira enters the bout after snapping a three-fight losing streak by eking out a split decision over Zachary Reese. Magomedov rebounded from the first loss of his career by defeating Marc-André Barriault in his most recent outing.

The event airs live on Paramount+ beginning at 5 p.m. ET. Combat Press writer Matt Petela previews the action.

Rafael Fiziev has lost four of his last five bouts. Can he break the skid and halt the momentum of Manuel Torres?

Petela: On paper, it doesn’t look good for Fiziev, but when you peel back the layers, he has come up short only against the best fighters in the lightweight division. His losses came against Mauricio Ruffy, Justin Gaethje (twice), and Mateusz Gamrot. All due respect to the talented Manuel Torres, but he is not on that same level. This is exactly the type of fight Fiziev needs to get back on track. He is taking on a good, not great, opponent with whom he can stand and trade in a technical battle. This will end up somewhere between a blood-and-guts war and a pure finesse contest. It won’t go the distance, but it will make it into the final round before Torres is overwhelmed by Fiziev’s volume and power.

The co-main event features a pair of unique strikers. Which one comes out on top?

Petela: This one could get goofy. Michel Pereira is unique, to say the least, and Shara Magomedov isn’t exactly known for avoiding wild strikes. The first thought I had when I saw this fight announced was those old toys where you pull the string and they fly through the air while spinning around. We had some legendary aerial battles as kids, and that is probably what this one is going to look like for the majority of the contest. Someone is going to sleep because they’ll get hit by a strike they don’t see coming while out of position. I think Pereira is the bigger risk-taker, and that will be his downfall this weekend. He is going up against a harder-hitting opponent at middleweight, and mistakes will cost him more than they did in previous fights, especially when he competed at welterweight.

Which fighter’s UFC career is on the ropes at this event?

Petela: Eric Nolan. He took a short-notice fight to make his UFC debut and certainly didn’t look awful against Baisangur Susurkaev. However, if he comes up short in his sophomore outing and falls to 0-2 with the promotion, he might have to head back to the regional scene before getting another crack on the big stage.

Which fight is the sleeper matchup on this card?

Petela: Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Andrey Pulyaev. It boggles my mind that this fight is buried on the prelims. Ruziboev is super talented and highly entertaining. He has lost just once in his last 13 fights, and that defeat came against bona fide contender Joaquin Buckley. He has also recorded only one decision victory during that stretch. He is a finisher through and through and will put on a show against Pulyaev this weekend.

Who takes home the “Performance of the Night” honors?

Petela: Asu Almabayev. He has a great submission game and draws a fun opponent, for lack of a better term, in Charles Johnson. The pace will be nonstop in this showdown, with slick submission attempts and smooth scrambles. Eventually, Almabayev will get the upper hand and lock up a rear-naked choke to earn both the victory and the post-fight bonus.

Pair this card with…

Petela: I don’t know much about Azerbaijan other than it is the only country that both starts and ends with the letter “A” (shoutout to the late, great Br. Ed Sheehy), so I can’t recommend a cultural food pairing. Instead, I’d pair this card with a globe so you can see where some of these fighters are from and which ones might have the hometown advantage.