Who will make the final round? Read on! Road to UFC 2 Episode 6 takes place Sunday, August 27, 2023 airing at 6PM ET on UFC Fight Pass.

Lightweight, Bahatebole Batebolati Vs. Haraguchi Shin

Tale of the Tape

Pros and Cons

Prediction: Batebolati is only in this fight because he won by DQ. I will say he did look better than I was expecting. Saying that, he’s still a low-level fighter with not much to offer.

Shin got a layup in the first round and is getting another one here. Batebolati has poor takedown defense and that’s a nightmare to have again Shin. I would be surprised if Batebolati lasted a full five minutes.

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Later this month, the Road to UFC tournament returns for its second instalment. Featuring top up-and-coming talents out of Asia looking to make their way to the UFC, Road to UFC 2 will once again include fighters across four weight classes, from flyweight to lightweight, competing in an eight-man tournament to secure a coveted spot in the UFC.

Episode 3 of the opening round goes down Saturday, May 28 starting at 6AM ET on UFC Fight Pass, and we’ve got a look at what to expect!

Lightweight, Zhu Rong Vs. Hong Sung Chan

Tale of the Tape

Pros and Cons

Prediction: I won’t go too much into Rong since he’s had his chance in the UFC. This is a clear striker versus grappler match-up. Rong can wrestle/grapple but has a big advantage on the feet. This fight depends on how frequently Chan can take Rong down.

In the UFC Rong had good TDD but it was poor prior to that. Also, Rong didn’t fight a wrestler in the UFC. Still, I’m more excited for Rong. He’s younger and has a better skillset to develop into the future. I can see Chan just wrestling Rong but I think the gap on the feet is too wide. I see Rong putting hands on Chan for an eventual finish.

The post Road to UFC 2: Episode 3 Breakdown and Predictions appeared first on Cageside Press.

We’ve got our predictions ready for Road to UFC 2 — let’s go!

Flyweight: Shaun Etchell Vs. Takeru Uchida

Tale of the tape

Pros and Cons

Prediction: To me, all focus is on the 19-year-old grappling phenom Takeru Uchida. There are significant concerns in this fight for him though. He is still very young and still lacking physically. Uchida is still grapple-heavy and hasn’t yet branched out to other aspects of MMA.

Etchell is easily more well-rounded and the more proven fighter. On tape, the Aussie should take this win home. With that said, Uchida is so good on the mat I’m not sure Etchell survives if he gets taken down even once. His takedown defense isn’t too good and he has given up his back to lesser grapplers. He can’t afford to do that with Uchida. Even on the feet, Etchell isn’t anywhere close to a great striker so he’s not that much of a threat to the kid from Japan. The pick is Uchida.

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Fighters from China, Brazil, Afghanistan, Israel, and more converged in Las Vegas, all looking to fight their way into the UFC. And during Monday’s weigh-ins, the ugly side of international relations reared its head.

Going up against top Afghani prospect Javid Basharat was Israel’s Oron Kahlon, who came in heavy for the fight. Weighing in at 139lbs for a bantamweight fight is never a good look, and when it came time to face off, Basharat opted not to shake his opponent’s hand. That, in turn, led to Kahlon calling the Afghani fighter a terrorist — an even worse look.

Given the decades of tensions between Israel and the rest of the Middle East, Kahlon’s comments are going to be picked apart, as they should be. They should also add fuel to the fire for Tuesday’s fight, where Basharat is the heavy favorite.

A full six fights are set for the penultimate episode of Dana White’s Contender Series this week, with China’s Xie Bin, a ONE Championship mainstay, also in action, and Brazil’s Jansey Silva taking on Gadzhi Omargadzhiev at middleweight in the featured fight.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 5, Week 9 kicks off at 8PM ET, airing live on ESPN+ in the United States, and on UFC Fight Pass elsewhere. Full results from the card, at the UFC Apex, can be found below.

Things looked a little dicey for Xie Bin in the opening round of the night’s first fight, against Olivier Murad. But Bin would get the fight to the ground and appeared to be in his comfort zone. Again, to open the second, Bin was rocked, but showed some grit, fighting through it. Again, he’d land a key takedown; Murad defended with a choke that Bin easily pulled free of. In the third, it was more of the same. Bin appeared to do more with his time on top, but Murad finished the third round strong. Olivier Murad took the split decision when the scores were read.

The second fight of the evening saw Manuel Torres stop Kolton Englund, finishing the fight with strikes for the TKO victory. The only drawback, Englund indicated he’d been poked in the eye, but the ref did not see or call the foul.

Karine Silva was throwing hard to open the evening’s women’s flyweight scrap. Qihui Yan answered that by planting her on her back, but Silva proved to have a dangerous guard. The longer it went, however, the more Yan was able to create space and sneak in some damaging elbows. Silva threw up a gogoplata at the end of the round, but Yan slipped free.

Round two opened with a hard kick from Yan, who pressed forward. Silva also took some big swings but missed; she then shot for a takedown, which Yan stuffed. But moments later, Silva latched on to her opponent’s neck standing. Yan spammed Silva, but that made the guillotine worse, and she was forced to tap!

Javid Basharat caught a kick early against Oron Kahlon, and dumped the Israeli on his back. Basharat controlled the wrists, and looked for an opening to land ground n’ pound, which he soon did, opening up a cut on Kahlon. Kahlon briefly threatened with a heel hook, but Basharat escaped, and landed more ground n’ pound as the round came to a close.

As dominant as the opening round was, Kahlon managed to survive through both that and the second frame. By the third, Basharat began unleashing leg kicks, with Kahlon basically just standing there eating them. He’d finally go down, Basharat got back into guard, and landed some hard elbows to the ribs. Late in the round, Basharat would sink in a mounted guillotine to force the tap.

In the second bantamweight bout of the evening, Christian Quinonez went the distance, earning a one-sided decision against China’s Long Xiao. All three judges scored the fight 30-27.

A quick kneebar capped off the night, with Gadzhi Omargadzhiev becoming the first to land the submission on the Contender Series.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 5, Week 9 Results

Middleweight: Gadzhi Omargadzhiev def. Jansey Silva by submission (kneebar), Round 1, 4:19
Bantamweight: Christian Quinonez def. Long Xiao by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Catchweight (139lbs): Javid Basharat def. Oron Kahlon by submission (guillotine choke), Round 3, 4:12
Women’s Flyweight: Karine Silva def. Qihui Yan by submission (guillotine choke), Round 2, 1:44
Lightweight: Manuel Torres def. Kolton Englund by TKO, Round 1, 2:10
Featherweight: Olivier Murad def. Xie Bin by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-8)

Contract Winners: Manuel Torres, Karine Silva, Javid Basharat, Christian Quinonez, Gadzhi Omargadzhiev

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If there was a theme to week nine, it would be international flavor. Fighters from China, Brazil, Israel, Afghanistan, and more were set for action this Tuesday, with the biggest stage in MMA awaiting those who stood out.

The world’s toughest job interview continues — here’s a look at Week 9 of this year’s Contender Series!

Middleweight: Jansey Silva Vs. Gadzhi Omargadzhiev

Tale of the Tape

Pros and Cons

Who has the advantage?

Striking: Omargadzhiev
Speed: Silva
Output/Volume: Omargadzhiev
Knockout Power: Silva
Chin: Omargadzhiev
Kickboxing: Even
Footwork: Even
Wrestling: Omargadzhiev
Grappling: Omargadzhiev
Submissions: Omargadzhiev
Cardio: Omargadzhiev

Prediction

I really like Omargadzhiev and think he’s one of the best prospects on this season of the Contender Series. He does so many things well and has no visible weakness. His wrestling is his best weapon and it’s high-level, as is his overall ground game. He doesn’t tend to strike often but when he does his hands are impressive. The way he mixes it up and strikes to wrestle is top-notch.

I think Silva is good but he’s got a difficult task in this one. Silva is a good striker but even there Omargadzhiev is better and when it comes to wrestling, grappling, and gas tank it’s all Omargadzhiev. I really think Omargadzhiev is levels above so the money line bet is the way to go if betting this one.

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