UFC Fight Night: Ignacio Bahamondes vs Tofiq Musayev Preview & Prediction
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Ignacio Bahamondes steps in for the injured Samuel Sanches on late notice, taking on Rizin export, Tofiq Musayev at 155 pounds to close out the prelims.
Ignacio Bahamondes vs Tofiq Musayev facts
What time are Ignacio Bahamondes and Tofiq Musayev expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Pyfer? Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, USA
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Pyfer? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 270
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Pyfer on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Pyfer? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and discovery+ / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Pyfer main card
Israel Adesanya vs Joe Pyfer (Middleweight)
Alexa Grasso vs Maycee Barber (Women’s Flyweight)
Michael Chiesa vs Niko Price (Welterweight)
Julian Erosa vs Lerryan Douglas (Featherweight)
Mansur Abdul Malik vs Yousri Belgaroui (Middleweight)
Terrance McKinney vs Kyle Nelson (Lightweight)
UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Pyfer prelims
Ignacio Bahamondes vs Tofiq Musayev (Lightweight)
Chase Hooper vs Lance Gibson Jr (Lightweight)
Marcin Tybura vs Tyrell Fortune (Heavyweight)
Casey ONeill vs Gabriella Fernandes (Women’s Flyweight)
Navajo Stirling vs Bruno Lopes (Light Heavyweight)
Ricky Simon vs Adrian Yanez (Bantamweight)
Alexia Thainara vs Bruna Brasil (Women’s Strawweight)
Ignacio Bahamondes: "La Jaula" looks to resume his surge towards the lightweight rankings
Three POTN winning, first round finishes in succession seemingly had Ignacio Bahamondes (17-6) knocking on the door of the 155 pound rankings, only for “Jaula” to be shown levels in a unanimous decision defeat to Rafael Fiziev last June in his most recent appearance. Standing 6’3 with a 75.5” reach, Bahamondes is a creative, dynamic striker who leverages his lanky frame to land devastating shots from range. However, despite many touting the Chilean as a future contender at lightweight, the manner of his defeat to Fiziev gave cause for concern; Bahamondes seemingly ran out of ideas when he was unable to land the KO blow and looked indecisive and tentative throughout much of the contest.
Tofiq Musayev: Can the Azerbaijani KO artist rebound from a harrowing debut defeat?
A veteran of Bellator and Rizin, Tofiq Musayev (22-6) arrived in the promotion with a considerable degree of hype courtesy of a 90% finishing rate in victory and a lengthy highlight reel. Unfortunately, things couldn’t have gone much worse for the 36 year old Azerbaijani in his debut; Musayev was grounded and tapped out with ease in just under a round by Myktybek Orolbai, a loss that was made all the more devastating considering that it came in front of his home crowd. A powerful striker with excellent kicks, Musayev is unquestionably a KO threat, but has frequently been let down by his tendency to rely on single shots rather than throwing in efficient combination.
Ignacio Bahamondes vs Tofiq Musayev prediction
From Musayev’s point of view, this is not the sort of fight that you want to be taking on short notice.
Bahamondes may have laid an egg against Fiziev last time out, but he’s contentiously the most dangerous contender outside of the rankings at 155 pounds. He’s enormous for the division, has knockout power in every limb, and has even has serviceable grappling to complement an opportunistic submission game.
Originally slated to face the debuting Contender Series graduate, Samuel Sanches, it's not inconceivable that heavy handed Rizin export Musayev becomes the first person to crack the Chilean's chin. However, his ceiling looks to have arguably already been established by the manner of his debut defeat against Orolbai, and he hasn’t had nearly the requisite amount of time to prepare for a fighter of Bahamondes’ caliber. He’s also 36 years old, has been finished in all but one of his six professional defeats, and finds himself on the end of a comical height and reach disadvantage against a young, dangerous finisher with a point to prove.
In short, even making it to the scorecards looks to be a tall ask for the Azerbaijani fighter against a finisher of the Chilean's reputation. Bahamondes either catches Musayev out in the open to score the KO or leverages his long limbs to lock in a submission if they end up grappling.
Prediction: Ignacio Bahamondes to win by stoppage
