UFC Moscow is a card loaded with Eastern European talent taking place on Saturday afternoon, and Cageside Press has their picks set.
| Staff Writers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe McDonagh (164-90) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Jason Payne (169-93) | | | | | |  |
| Keith Shillan (127-76) | |  | | | | |
| Heath Harshman (158-104) |  | | | | | |
| Josh Evanoff (154-103) | | | | | | |
| Jay Anderson (156-106) | | | | | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (156-106) | | | |  | | |
| Mike McClory (109-80) | | | | | | |
| Dan Doherty (151-111) | | | | | | |
| Paarth Pande (108-83) | | | | | | |
The main event of UFC Moscow is a rescheduled bout from UFC Boston between rising featherweights Zabit Magomedsharipov and Calvin Kattar. Magomedsharipov is 5-0 in the Octagon and has established himself as a fan-favorite due to his dynamic style. Kattar is 4-1 with the promotion with the lone loss coming to top-tier featherweight Renato Moicano. Zabit was slightly favored, getting picked by six of 10 writers.
Greg Hardy gets a hefty step up in competition in the co-main event against Alexander Volkov. Volkov was well on his way to a 5-0 UFC record in his last fight until a miracle KO by Derrick Lewis. Hardy takes this fight on short notice after a no-contest against Ben Sosoli in his last appearance. Volkov was unanimously picked.
Zelim Imadaev looks to bounce back from his first career loss against Danny Roberts. Imadaev stopped the first eight men he fought before losing to Max Griffin in his Octagon debut. Roberts comes into the bout on a two-fight losing streak. All but two writers picked Imadaev.
Khadis Ibragimov battles the ageless Ed Herman on the main card. Like Imadaev, Ibragimov is 8-1 after losing in his promotional debut. Herman has been with the UFC since 2007 and recently snapped a three-fight losing streak with a KO over Patrick Cummins. Ibragimov was unanimously picked.
Ramazan Emeev looks to keep his run going against Anthony Rocco Martin. Emeev was a longtime M-1 champion before joining the UFC, where he has gone 3-0. Martin was on a four-fight win streak before a sloppy loss to Demian Maia. Emeev got the slight nod with six of 10 picks.
Opening up the main card will be light heavyweights Shamil Gamzatov and Klidson Abreu. Gamzatov will be making his promotional debut at UFC Moscow after a two-fight stint with PFL. Abreu is coming off a win over Sam Alvey. All but two writers picked Abreu.
