UFC 325: Kaan Ofli vs Yi Zha Preview & Prediction
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Featherweights are on deck for the fifth fight of the night, with honorary Aussie native, Kaan Ofli, set to throw down with Road to UFC winner, Yizha.
Kaan Ofli vs Yi Zha facts
What time are Kaan Ofli and Yi Zha expected to walk out?
Where is UFC 325? Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia
Where can I get tickets for UFC 325? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC 325
What TV channel is UFC 325 on? UK – TNT Sports Box Office / USA – Not televised
Where can I stream UFC 325? UK – TNT Sports subscribers who have paid for the fight can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and discovery+ / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC 325: Volkanovski vs Lopes 2 main card
Alexander Volkanovski vs Diego Lopes (Featherweight)
Dan Hooker vs Benoit Saint Denis (Lightweight)
Rafael Fiziev vs Mauricio Ruffy (Lightweight)
Tai Tuivasa vs Tallison Teixeira (Heavyweight)
Quillan Salkilld vs Jamie Mullarkey (Lightweight)
UFC 325: Volkanovski vs Lopes 2 prelims
Junior Tafa vs Billy Elekana (Light Heavyweight)
Cameron Rowston vs Cody Brundage (Middleweight)
Jacob Malkoun vs Torrez Finney (Middleweight)
Jonathan Micallef vs Oban Elliott (Welterweight)
Kaan Ofli vs Yi Zha (Featherweight)
Kim Sang-wook vs Dom Mar Fan (Lightweight)
Keiichiro Nakamura vs Sebastian Szalay (Featherweight)
Sulang Rangbo vs Lawrence Lui (Bantamweight)
Kaan Ofli: "Genghis" Kaan returns off the back of an impressive upset last time out
Few were picking Kaan Ofli (12-4-1) in his last appearance, only for "Genghis" to upset the applecart (and the bookmakers) with a first round submission victory over Ricardo Ramos in Rio de Janeiro last October. The TUF 32 runner up's victory snapped a two fight losing streak for Ofli and secured his first win in the promotion, after losing to Mairon Santos and Muhammad Naimov respectively in the TUF finale and his official debut. A grinding wrestle-boxer who pushes a high pace, the City Kickboxing alum leans on his impressive cardio to gloss over the fact that he's arguably undersized for the weight class.
Yi Zha: Can the Road to UFC veteran push his promotional record to .500?
Despite coming up short in his efforts to win Season 1, Yizha (26-5) would eventually win the featherweight bracket of Season 2 of Road to UFC with a submission victory over Kaiwen Li in February 2024. The 29 year old Chinese submission specialist has three UFC fights under his belt to date from two separate runs in the organization, with his promotional record currently standing at 1-2. A grappler who likes to use kicks to close the distance and ground his opponents, Yizha dropped decisions to Jeong Yeong Lee and Gabriel Santos, before securing his first win in the promotion last time out with a brutal knockout over Weston Wilson in Shanghai last August.
Kaan Ofli vs Yi Zha prediction
The oddsmakers are siding against Ofli again, with Yizha entering this match up as a slight favorite. Unfortunately for them, "Genghis" is going to upset them again here.
Muhammad Naimov's ceiling might have been established by a TKO defeat to Mairon Santos last time out, but "Hillman" is still a solid level featherweight. As such, the fact that Ofli gave him all he could handle in their showdown last February is still more impressive than any one of Yizha's twenty five professional victories, to say nothing of his submission over submission specialist, Ricardo Ramos, last time out.
The Chinese fighter's record is undoubtedly impressive on paper, but make no mistake; he's largely fought complete cans throughout his career. He's also got some absolutely horrific results on his record; losing to a 7-10 fighter by first round heel hook is about as bad as it gets for a prospect who was 12-1 at the time.
Yizha's only UFC victory is over the 1-3 Westin Wilson, a since cut 37 year old who was KO'd in every single UFC defeat and has been finished no less than nine times. That KO may have convinced people that Yizha is some kind of burgeoning power puncher, but he's actually a jiu-jitsu player with 14 wins by submission; Ofli has never been tapped out.
"Genghis" leans on his pace, cardio, and experience at a significantly higher level to grind out a decision. It wouldn't even come as a huge surprise if he's able to find the Chinese fighter's back and strangle him into submission.
Prediction: Kaan Ofli to win
