UFC Fight Night: Ignacio Bahamondes vs Muslim Salikhov Preview & Prediction

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A welterweight prelim sees a Chilean striker stepping up in weight for the first time with one of the division’s most decorated strikers, as Ignacio Bahamondes faces the 42-year-old Muslim Salikhov.

Ignacio Bahamondes vs Muslim Salikhov facts

What time are Ignacio Bahamondes and Muslim Salikhov expected to walk out? 12 September 2026 at 9:15 pm

Where is UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado? Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, USA

Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 288

What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount

Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass

UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado main card

Jean Silva vs Jose Delgado (Featherweight)

Brandon Moreno vs Joseph Morales (Flyweight)

Tommy McMillen vs Marwan Rahiki (Featherweight)

Manon Fiorot vs Alexa Grasso (Women's Flyweight)

Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Curtis Blaydes (Heavyweight)

David Martinez vs Dan Ige (Bantamweight)

UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Delgado prelims

Tim Elliott vs Edgar Chairez (Flyweight)

Ignacio Bahamondes vs Muslim Salikhov (Welterweight)

Yousri Belgaroui vs Djorden Santos (Middleweight)

Drakkar Klose vs Thomas Gantt (Lightweight)

Rafa Garcia vs Rong Zhu (Lightweight)

Sean King vs Jessie Rosas (Featherweight)

JJ Aldrich vs Regina Tarin (Women's Flyweight)

Ignacio Bahamondes: “La Jaula” fills out a frame that never belonged at 155

Ignacio Bahamondes (17-7) moves to welterweight after dropping consecutive decisions to Rafael Fiziev and Tofiq Musayev, the first two-fight skid of his career. Before that he was on a three fight win streak, all finishes, including a first-round triangle over Jalin Turner and first-round KO over Manuel Torres, and he owns four Performance of the Night bonuses. At 6’3” with a 75 inch reach the Chilean was always oversized for lightweight, fighting light on his feet, switching stances constantly and mixing heavy low kicks with head kicks thrown from abnormal angles. His issues are on the mat, where all three of his recent losses came from men who grounded him.

Muslim Salikhov: The “King of Kung Fu” returns at 42 and still carries his kicking speed

Muslim Salikhov (22-6) has not fought since last November, when Uros Medic ended his three-fight run in just 63 seconds. The streak was some vintage stuff that included a spinning wheel kick KO over Song Kenan, and a 42-second counter right hook that colded Carlos Leal as he stepped in. A Sanda world champion who went 185-13 in kickboxing, Salikhov still moves beautifully, setting range with low kicks and body kicks before darting in with blitzing combinations rather than trading in the pocket.

Ignacio Bahamondes vs Muslim Salikhov prediction

The template for beating Bahamondes is out there and Salikhov doesn’t own it. Ludovit Klein, Fiziev and Musayev all did the same thing – took him down, exploited his willingness to sit on his back hunting submissions rather than standing up, and banked rounds. Salikhov’s grappling is defensive and opportunistic, and Bahamondes has never landed a takedown in the UFC himself, so this is a kickboxing match by mutual consent.

In a kickboxing match, it doesn’t look too good for the older man. Five inches of reach means every Salikhov blitz has to travel through Bahamondes’ knee up the middle and his counter boxing, and Bahamondes throws faster, with more volume and from more angles. Bahamondes’ head kicks can be thrown up from close range with a lean-away posture that makes them hard to read or counter.

Bahamondes is happy to eat one to land one, and at 42 Salikhov still carries genuine one-shot power, as Leal discovered in less than a minute of their bout. That’s the upset path I see. However, Salikhov has now been stopped inside a round twice in his last five, and giving up the reach and age to a man this dynamic is a bad way to find out whether the chin is still there or not.

Prediction: Ignacio Bahamondes to win by KO/TKO