Oleg Popov vs Linton Vassell Prediction: the Russian Will Make It to the Final

PFL 7: Season 2024 tournament is happening on the night of August 3rd. It's taking place in the United States and features semifinal bouts in the heavyweight division. One of the fights will see Russian fighter Oleg Popov go up against Briton Linton Vassell. It's also worth mentioning that Vassell got the green light to compete in the semifinals not on a sporting basis but because he's stepping in for Valentin Moldavsky, who bowed out of the tournament.

Oleg Popov isn't a star yet, but he is on his way. He's beating everyone he faces, and he does it in a way that's hard to ignore. He's got sixteen victories in a row on his record, and the last three were in Bellator and PFL. He's not the most exciting fighter, but he usually gets the win pretty early on. In his previous fight, he won by unanimous decision over Davion Franklin. He landed many punches in the standing and took control of the ground game but couldn't get takedown.

Oleg Popov is ready to cope with Linton Vassell and win the PFL tournament. Last summer, he was with us at the training camp in Sochi, and since then, he has been in good shape, judging by how he fights. In terms of psychological preparation, he is ready to face any opponent; physically, he will be stronger than Vassel and can take him to the floor. Oleg's style of fighting is 80 percent in the parterre, so I think he will be ready for such tactics in the semifinals. Everything should go well.

Alexander Michkov, Fedor Team coach

Veteran Linton Vassell is well-known to Russian martial arts fans for his trilogy with Valentin Moldavsky, which he won. He's a pretty versatile fighter with some good and bad points. On the plus side, he's got good boxing skills, powerful punching, and physical strength. In his last seven bouts, he's only suffered one defeat by knockout against Denis Goltsov.

The fight will be held according to Oleg Popov's plan. He's had many different types of victories. From time to time, the Russian will test his opponent on his feet. But most of the fight will be held in the parterre, where the Briton has almost no chance to offer something interesting.