Alexander Romanov vs Rodrigo Nascimento Prediction: King Kong Will Win One Way or Another

The preliminary card for the UFC Edmonton tournament, which will take place on the night of November 3rd, will see Moldovan fighter Alexander Romanov take on Rodrigo Nascimento from Brazil. The bout will be in the heavyweight division (Romanov is ranked thirteenth, Nascimento - fifteenth).

Alexander Romanov moved from freestyle wrestling to mixed martial arts, and it shows. Known as 'King Kong,' he's comfortable on his feet but also packs a punch and likes to throw ground-and-pound. He joined the UFC in 2020 and was undefeated, doing well at first. Alexander won five early victories and broke into the top. But as the level of competition increased, things didn't go so well. He started failing more often than winning. He lost to Jailton Almeida in his last bout by submission in the first round.

This night is a big one for Romanov. We're hoping he'll get back on the winning track and come away with a clear victory.

We still have one more fight on the contract. We'll work out this fight, and the managers will negotiate an extension or a move to another league. I'd be happy to stay in the UFC, but only God knows what'll happen. At one point in my life, I had some trouble staying motivated. I'm happy to say that I don't have any issues at the moment. I'm feeling pretty good about things at the moment. I'm also feeling more motivated than ever in my career. It's going to be a very interesting match-up in the octagon.

Alexander Romanov

The Brazilian heavyweight has only suffered two defeats in his career - he was knocked out by Chris Daukaus and Derrick Lewis in his last fight. On the surface, the opponents he's beaten seem weaker than Alexander's, but Nascimento still has a long way to go. He wrestles with his opponents like Alexander but also hits them, even if he's not good at it. Generally speaking, Romanov and Nascimento have a similar fighting style, but the Moldovan fighter still has a higher level of skill.

Frankly, we're surprised that the bookmakers have made such an obvious mistake in determining the favorite in this confrontation. We don't think Nascimento is a significant threat. He didn't look so good when he was up against below-average fighters. He got knocked out as soon as he faced someone at the top of their game. Recall that Derrick Lewis finished him, and it was in the third round after he'd been tired for a while.

On his feet, Rodrigo doesn't look convincing. And on the ground, it's hard to imagine him being able to handle the power wrestling of King Kong. On the other hand, Nascimento can work all three rounds in one mode, while Romanov hasn't won early in two years.