Dana White’s Contender Series: Rashid Vagabov vs Paulo Henrique da Silva Preview & Prediction
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Flyweight grapplers serve as the second fight of the night, with Rashid Vagabov matched against Paulo Henrique da Silca at 125 pounds.
Rashid Vagabov vs Paulo Henrique da Silva facts
What time are Rashid Vagabov and Paulo Henrique da Silva expected to walk out?
Where is DWCS – Season 9, Week 8 taking place? UFC Apex, Las Vegas, USA
What TV channel is DWCS – Season 9, Week 8 on? UK – Not televised / USA – ESPN+
Where can I stream DWCS – Season 9, Week 8? UK – UFC Fight Pass / USA – ESPN+ & UFC Fight Pass
DWCS – Season 9, Week 8 card
Vitor Costa vs Damian Pinas (Middleweight)
Kurtis Campbell vs Demba Seck (Featherweight)
Louis Jourdain vs Magno Dias (Bantamweight)
Rashid Vagabov vs Paulo Henrique da Silva (Flyweight)
Christopher Alvidrez vs Eliezer Kubanza (Welterweight)
Rashid Vagabov: The well-rounded Russian looking to stamp his ticket to the UFC
Arriving on DWCS with a five fight win streak in tow, Rashid Vagabov (13-2) looks to be one of the more UFC ready flyweights on the regional scene. The Russian flyweight has been on an absolute tear as of late, scoring submission stoppages in four successive appearances in the Emirate promotion, UAE Warriors. With twelve wins split equally between KOs, submissions, and decisions, the Russian has consistently fought decent levels of competition throughout his career; his only two losses have came against fighters with records of 9-0 and 10-0 respectively.
Paulo Henrique da Silva: A Brazilian grappling whiz who rarely requires the judges
With nine victories by tap out to his name, submission specialist Paulo Henrique da Silva (11-1) finds himself on the Contender Series after earning the biggest win of his career to date in LFA, defeating fellow prospect Hugo Paiva by decision. As such, the 23 year Brazilian prospect is clearly talented, but it doesn't change the fact that the rest of his record consists of decidedly weaker competition. With that being said, "PH" has been undefeated since losing his debut by TKO to Iago Ribeiro in 2021.
Rashid Vagabov vs Paulo Henrique da Silva prediction
Vagabov looks to be a fairly secure favorite to earn the victory here, either dominating en route to a decision or potentially even scoring a stoppage on the ground via ground-and-pound or a submission.
While it's entirely possible that he could upright the applecart here, "PH" simply hasn't beaten enough decent competition outside of Hugo Paiva to indicate that he's likely to score the upset here. Prior to his victory over the aforementioned Paiva, da Silva has fought a steady run of subpar and overmatched competition. One of his opponents had a record of 2-17, and he also took a 1-0 fighter to a decision when his record stood at 9-1.
By contrast, Vagabov has been consistently fighting, beating, and finishing better competition than the Brazilian has ever faced. While the Russian has been submitted before and da Silva has nine wins by tap out, until the Brazilian proves himself consistently capable of beating this level of fighter, it's extremely hard to pick him for the upset.
Prediction: Rashid Vagabov to win
