Islam Makhachev was supposed to meet Beneil Dariush in a lightweight bout to headline UFC Fight Night 202. However, Dariush had to withdraw with an ankle injury, and now Bobby Green will fight with a 160-pound catchweight. The co-main event is a middleweight bout between Misha Cirkunov and Wellington Turman. The card is set for Saturday night at the UFC APEX facility near Las Vegas. We have the complete fight card as well as UFC Odds about the top tilts.
UFC Fight Night 202: Makhachev vs Green Preview
Main Card (ESPN+)
Islam Makhachev vs Bobby Green (Catchweight – 160 lbs)
Misha Cirkunov vs Wellington Turman (Middleweight)
Ji Yeon Kim vs Priscila Cachoeira (Women’s Flyweight)
Arman Tsarukyan vs Joel Alvarez (Lightweight)
Armen Petrosyan vs Gregory Rodrigues (Middleweight)
Preliminary Card (ESPN+)
Zhu Rong vs Ignacio Bahamondes (Lightweight)
Josiane Nunes vs Ramona Pascual (Women’s Featherweight)
Terrance McKinney vs Fares Ziam (Lightweight)
Alejandro Perez vs Jonathan Martinez (Featherweight)
Ramiz Brahimaj vs Micheal Gillmore (Welterweight)
Victor Altamirano vs Carlos Hernandez (Flyweight)
Islam Makhachev (21-1, 10-1 UFC, -720) vs Bobby Green (29-12-1, 10-7-1 UFC, +500)
gives us a tested journeyman stepping in at the last minute to take on a rising lightweight. Makhachev entered UFC in 2015 with a lot of hype but lost just two fights into his UFC journey, taking a knockout from Adriano Martins. He has not lost since then, but even so, he is not as dynamic as he used to be. Now, he takes a more patient approach to his fights. He started to climb the lightweight ladder in 2019 but missed all of 2020 with injuries. In 2021, though, things started to pop, as he beat Drew Dober, Thiago Moises and Dan Hooker via submission, stopping Hooker in under 2:30. His fight with Dariush looked like the setup for the top challenger, but if he can take care of Green, he will still get a lot of looks.
Green has been in the promotion for nine years now, dating back to UFC bringing in all the Strikeforce fighters. He won his first four fights in UFC, but a loss to Edson Barboza near the end of 2014 seemed to knock him off the table. A series of injuries and personal issues kept him from fighting, and his subtle defense did not impress judges enough, and he ended up losing decisions where he landed more strikes. He briefly retired in 2018 before coming back in 2020 with three solid wins in which he focused more on delivering volume than going defense-first. He ended 2020 with a tough loss on the cards to Moises. Since 2021, he has put up electric fights, including a narrow loss to Rafael Fiziev and a demolition of Al Iaquinta. Just two weeks ago, he took Nasrat Haqparast apart, which raises an interesting question – what will Green have in the tank coming back just two weeks later? He could make this fight tough, because of his skills at wrestling – both offensively and in escaping trouble. Even so, the smart pick is the favorite.
Final Prediction: Makhachev wins via decision
Misha Cirkunov (15-7, 6-5 UFC, -125) vs Wellington Turman (17-5, 2-3 UFC, +105)
is the next step for Cirkunov, who came into UFC as a light heavyweight and prospered in his first four bouts, using his background in jiu-jitsu, judo and wrestling to finish his first four opponents easily. He then faced Volkan Oezdemir and was favored to win easily but then ended up getting knocked out just 28 seconds in. After that, others took advantage of his susceptibility to the big bomb. He dropped down in October to fight Krzysztof Jotko at middleweight but still lost, this time via split decision in an ugly outing. He looks to bounce back in this fight with Turman, who got a huge win in August over Sam Alvey. Turman has time to improve, and he has strong skills in the clinch and on the ground, but he tends to start to get anxious when fights start to go against him. Turman won on the cards against Alvey but lost points with eye pokes. He could finish Cirkunov early, but if he doesn’t, he will end up on the ground.
Final Prediction: Cirkunov wins via submission
UFC Betting Odds
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