UFC Fight Night: Asu Almabayev vs Charles Johnson Preview & Prediction
A pivotal top-15 flyweight clash on the main card, Kazakh grappler Asu Almabayev takes on the division’s most dangerous prospect killer, Charles Johnson.
Asu Almabayev vs Charles Johnson facts
What time are Asu Almabayev and Charles Johnson expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs Torres? National Gymnastics Arena, Baku, Azerbaijan
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs Torres? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 280
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs Torres on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs Torres? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs Torres main card
Rafael Fiziev vs Manuel Torres (Lightweight)
Sharabutdin Magomedov vs Michel Pereira (Middleweight)
Nazim Sadykhov vs Matheus Camilo (Lightweight)
Asu Almabayev vs Charles Johnson (Flyweight)
Ikram Aliskerov vs Brunno Ferreira (Middleweight)
Abusupiyan Magomedov vs Michal Oleksiejczuk (Middleweight)
UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs Torres prelims
Farman Hasanov vs Eric Nolan (Welterweight)
Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev vs Julius Walker (Light Heavyweight)
Nursulton Ruziboev vs Andrey Pulyaev (Middleweight)
Kaan Ofli vs Javier Reyes (Featherweight)
Daniil Donchenko vs Theodor Berggren (Welterweight)
Bekzat Almakhan vs Jean Matsumoto (Bantamweight)
Tahir Abdullayev vs Jefferson Nascimento (Welterweight)
Asu Almabayev: Well-rounded grappler in his physical prime
Asu Almabayaev (23-3) has quietly built himself into a top-seven flyweight on the back of suffocating wrestling. The 32-year-old Kazakh chains takedowns, drowns opponents in control, and carries a submission game. His only UFC blemish comes from a third-round TKO against Manel Kape, a finishing sequence where he was eye-poked twice, and Kape has since surged to the top of the division. Almabayev rebounded with a decision over Jose Ochoa and a slick guillotine of Alex Perez. The only big knock is his durability in extended striking exchanges.
Charles Johnson: The division’s ultimate prospect killer
Charles “InnerG” Johnson (19-8) has made a career of derailing hot prospects. The rangy switch-hitter is the only man to beat the current flyweight champ Joshua Van – a third-round knockout- and also brutally stopped Lone’er Kavanagh, who has since gone on to beat the ex-champ Brandon Moreno. Blessed with an impressive gas tank and relentless volume, Johnson can be a nightmare for any striker who agrees to meet him in the pocket. Though there is a blueprint to beat him, his defining losses have come to grappling-heavy fighters in Muhammad Mokaev, Cody Durden, and Rafael Estevam, who took him down and managed to control him.
Asu Almabayev vs Charles Johnson prediction
On paper this could look like another Charles Johnson prospect-killing showcase waiting to happen, but the styles tell a different story. Every big name Johnson has dismantled was a striker willing to endlessly trade with him in the pocket, and that’s where he thrives. Almabayev is not that. He’s a grappler first, and he’s much more like the Mokaevs and Durdens who have handed Johnson a worst night than the Vans and Kavanaghs he’s flatlined.
Almabayev won’t want to linger in a striking match, and he doesn’t have to. He’ll shoot often, and even the threat of the takedown should take Johnson’s striking down a notch, the luxury he’s enjoyed against pure strikers who gave him no grappling to worry about. Johnson has good get-up game, and the constant movement he possesses makes him hard to take down, and his cardio means he could pour it on late and even steal the final round if Asu’s pace drops. But Johnson’s takedown defence hasn’t been tested by a wrestler of Almabayev’s level since Estevam, and the wrestling should bank the opening two rounds. On top of that, Almabayev has shown to have a durable chin, and he’s in his physical prime unlike the likes of Kavanagh and Van when they were knocked out. Give me Asu to wrestle his way to victory.
Prediction: Asu Almabayev to win by decision
