UFC Fight Night: Diyar Nurgozhay vs Bruno Lopes Preview & Prediction
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Two light heavyweights with plenty to prove and very little margin for error, as Kazakhstan’s Diyar Nurgozhay meets Brazil’s Bruno Lopes.
Diyar Nurgozhay vs Bruno Lopes facts
What time are Diyar Nurgozhay and Bruno Lopes expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs Salkilld? Meta Apex, Enterprise, USA
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs Salkilld? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 284
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs Salkilld on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs Salkilld? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs Salkilld main card
Mateusz Gamrot vs Quillan Salkilld (Lightweight)
Carlos Diego Ferreira vs Billy Quarantillo (Lightweight)
Darren Elkins vs Yadier del Valle (Featherweight)
Amanda Lemos vs Alexia Thainara (Women's Strawweight)
Ty Miller vs Billy Ray Goff (Welterweight)
UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs Salkilld prelims
Steven Asplund vs Guilherme Pat (Heavyweight)
Diyar Nurgozhay vs Bruno Lopes (Light Heavyweight)
Louie Sutherland vs Jose Luiz (Heavyweight)
Manoel Sousa vs Richie Miranda (Lightweight)
Miles Johns vs Jessie Rosas (Featherweight)
Juliana Miller vs Ravena Oliveira (Women's Flyweight)
Carol Foro vs Giovanna Canuto (Women's Strawweight)
Diyar Nurgozhay: Kazakh striker looking to build on his first octagon win
Diyar Nurgozhay (11-2) had a nightmare start to UFC life, missing weight on his debut before Brendson Ribeiro caught him with a kimura, then getting rocked early and submitted by Uran Satybaldiev with an Ezekiel choke inside the first round. He finally got into the win column in March with a decision over Rafael Tobias at UFC 326. The former Eagle FC champ fights out of southpaw, starts patient at range and isn’t hesitant to whip up the body kicks in an open-stance matchup, picking his shots well mixing to the head and body. High-level stuff for an unranked light heavyweight.
Bruno Lopes: “The Brazilian Cowboy” needs a result to stay on the roster
Bruno Lopes (14-3) has also had a difficult UFC life since grinding out a debut decision over Magomed Gadzhiyasulov. Dustin Jacoby stopped him inside two minutes in May 2025, and Navajo Stirling battered him to a second-round finish in Seattle in March. The former LFA light heavyweight champion is a BJJ black belt who is average at range, throwing leg kicks and mixing in punches, but his hands are slow, he wings his shots wide, and his combos leave him open for counters. Lopes leans heavily on his grappling when facing superior strikers, but it’s also unreliable.
Diyar Nurgozhay vs Bruno Lopes prediction
The through-line with Lopes is a fighter aware of his striking limitations who tries to grapple his way out of trouble but doesn’t execute it convincingly, even against lower-level opposition. His shots don’t go deep enough, his trips fail more often than not, and his ground control is loose enough that opponents pop straight back up. Against Stirling he got clipped by a high kick, immediately shot for a takedown, and had it stuffed without much fuss.
Lopes also has a terrible chin. He holds the advantage on the ground here, but as soon as he’s caught by anything clean on the feet the fight may be over. So the breakdown could be a technical piece, but it probably won’t last past the first big shot Nurgozhay lands.
Neither fighter is particularly high level. Nurgozhay is just not good enough on the ground and has been exposed in two of his three octagon appearances, both by submission. The difference is the ground game is something he can train, and he could focus on his takedown defence rather than grappling as a whole. Lopes can’t train for his chin to hold up.
In both his losses Nurgozhay’s opponents had a frame advantage that deterred him from fighting his game, whereas against Tobias, who matched him physically, he looked far more confident. Both these men have the same height, so expect a less timid striker. Nurgozhay’s striking advantage is bigger than Lopes’ grappling advantage, and the fight starts on the feet. Be wary of betting this one though, it could turn out any number of ways.
Prediction: Diyar Nurgozhay to win by KO/TKO in round one
