UFC returns to the Apex Facility in greater Las Vegas for Saturday night’s card – UFC on ESPN 48. The main event is a middleweight fight between Abusupiyan Magomedov and Sean Strickland. The co-main event features Grant Dawson and Damir Ismagulov squaring off in a lightweight tilt. You can watch the main and preliminary cards on ESPN or ESPN+.
We have the full fight card for you, along with UFC betting predictions about the two fights on top of the card.
UFC on ESPN 48: Strickland vs Magomedov Betting Preview
Sean Strickland vs Abusupiyan Magomedov
Sean Strickland (26-5, 13-5 UFC, -145) vs Abusupiyan Magomedov (25-4-1, 1-0 UFC, +125) is Strickland’s fourth headliner in his last five fights. He entered UFC in 2014 and hung around as a mediocre welterweight, but then he had a motorcycle wreck that threatened his career. He needed two years to recover, but he had added muscle to fight at middleweight, which suited his style as a bully who brings the pressure. He showed willingness to fight often, which (combined with early success) marked him as a possible contender. He uses an upright style to attack his opponents which seems vulnerable, but he also has defensive acumen and the ability to answer punishment with punishment of his own. In 2022, he used that style against Alex Pereira, and he ended up on the wrong end of a violent left hook. He lost again at the end of 2022, falling to Jared Cannonier on the cards. He started 2023 on a better note, beating Nassourdine Imavov on the cards over five rounds.
Magomedov entered UFC in 2021, coming out of the Professional Fighters League. However, he took a long time to debut because various issues forced him to keep withdrawing. It wasn’t until September that Magomedov got his first fight – and it only lasted 19 seconds, as he knocked out Dustin Stoltzfus almost before either fighter could break a sweat. After that win, though, it’s been back to having bookings get canceled, but now he’s in this main event. It will be interesting to see if Strickland is smarter than Stoltzfus about avoiding damage early; if he can do that, Magomedov will tend to lose discipline, which will allow Strickland to stack up points.
UFC Final Prediction: Strickland wins via decision
Damir Ismagulov vs Grant Dawson
Damir Ismagulov (24-2, 5-1 UFC, -115) vs Grant Dawson (19-1-1, 7-0-1 UFC, -105) is Dawson’s long-awaited shot at moving to contender status. When he entered UFC, he was a wrestling specialist who pursued submissions single-mindedly. However, if he couldn’t finish, he would run out of gas and need to cling to his points lead late and barely win on the cards. After he ended up in a draw with Ricky Glenn in 2021, though, he decided to change and add a striking game to his repertoire. This allows him to conserve energy, instead of spending the whole fight grinding on the ground. He took down Mark O. Madsen, the one-time Olympic wrestler, earning him a fight that could open some doors for him to climb in the division.
Ismagulov joined UFC in 2018 and remains an enigma in the lightweight classification. He doesn’t finish fighters, but his technique combines strong boxing and sound wrestling. So he has been able to grind out tough wins on the cards against good competitions, a trend that came to an end in December, when Arman Tsarukyan was his first opponent at a level that could be considered elite. Tsarukyan won with his wrestling, but it took more than 20 takedown attempts for him to gain control. This should be able to keep Dawson from getting comfortable in the upright game and neutralize his skills on the mat.
UFC Final Prediction: Ismagulov wins via decision
Main Card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Sean Strickland vs Abusupiyan Magomedov (Middleweight)
Damir Ismagulov vs Grant Dawson (Lightweight)
Max Griffin vs Michael Morales (Welterweight)
Arlane Lipski vs Melissa Gatto (Women’s Flyweight)
Ismael Bonfim vs Benoit Saint-Denis (Lightweight)
Nursulton Ruziboev vs Brunno Ferreira (Middleweight)
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Kevin Lee vs Rinat Fakhretdinov (Welterweight)
Joanderson Brito vs Westin Wilson (Featherweight)
Yana Santos vs Karol Rosa (Women’s Featherweight)
Guram Kutateladze vs Elves Brenner (Lightweight)
Ivana Petrovic vs Luana Carolina (Women’s Flyweight)
Alexander Romanov vs Blagoy Ivanov (Heavyweight)
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