Uzbek Middleweight Makhmud Muradov clashes with Bryan Barberena at the O2 Arena in a Middleweight fight at UFC Fight Night: Aspinall vs. Tybura. Barberena, a Welterweight and Lightweight competitor, will make his 185-pound bow in this fight. The bout is slated on the prelims of the UFC Fight Night in London this weekend. Both fighters are on a two-fight losing skid, and for the American Barberena, it will be a return to the British capital after fighting there in March.
MMA: UFC Middleweight
Location: O2 Arena, London
Where to watch: ESPN+
Date: 23.07.2023. 00.00
Makhmud Muradov
The Tajik-born Uzbek who lives in Prague has been a MMA competitor since 2012 and is the world's first mixed martial artist, signed by Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s The Money Team. Muradov is a former professional kickboxer and amateur combat Sambist. He won several regional kickboxing competitions before making the transition to MMA. The number one ranked Eastern European Middleweight in 2019, according to Tapology, debuted in the UFC in 2019 and started with a lot of gusto, earning three consecutive wins with two Performance of the Night awards. He has slowed down with a pair of losses in his last two. "Mach's" last visit to the Octagon was last October in a Unanimous Decision loss to Caio Borralho.
Tale of the Tape
- Age: 33
- Height: 6' 2"
- Reach: 75.5"
- Record: 25-8
Bryan Barberena
The American fighter has competed at Lightweight and Welterweight during his time in the UFC but will be making his Middleweight debut in London in a bid to return to winning ways. Barberena began his professional mixed martial arts career in 2009 before joining the UFC in 2014. Before debuting in the UFC, he had won nine fights, with all but one coming inside the distance. The California-born fighter has Colombian ancestry and usually comes to the cage with the American and Colombian fights. He has fought some of the big names in the Welterweight division, including current champion Leon Edwards, Colby Covington, and Vicente Luque. The 34-year-old's two defeats in four months - December 2022 and March 2023 - have convinced him to move up weight to 185 - pounds. Before the back-to-back defeats, he had been on a tidy run of three consecutive wins.
Tale of the Tape
- Age: 34
- Height: 6' 0"
- Reach: 72"
- Record: 18-10
Betting Odds
Makhmud Muradov is a huge favorite across the sportsbooks. On Bet365, the Uzbek is 1.36 to win, with the American underdog priced at 3.25 odds. Marathonbet has the under 1.5 at 2.05 odds, with the over at 1.65. Over at 1XBET, a Yes that round three will start is available at 1.8 odds, with the No priced at 1.95.