Rinat Fakhretdinov vs Eliseu Zaleski dos Santos Prediction: Almost Retired Veteran Doesn't Stand a Chance

UFC Fight Night 231 (UFC Sao Paulo) will take place in Brazil on the night of November 5th. In one of the preliminary card bouts, Russian fighter Rinat Fakhretdinov will share the cage with Brazilian Eliseu Zaleski dos Santos. The bout will take place in the welterweight division.

Rinat Fakhretdinov caught the attention of Dana White when he knocked out Eric Spicely (a former UFC fighter, by the way) in the first minute of the fight. It was at the UAE Warriors tournament where Dana White was in attendance, saw Rinat's triumph with his own eyes, and immediately made him an offer. 

Before that, he won the World Combat Sambo Championship and the title of the Russian promotion Gorilla Fighting. After it, already in the UFC, Rinat has three consecutive confident victories.

Fakhretdinov's last bout is very similar to the fight that played a decisive role in his career. Rinat finished his opponent, the legendary Kevin Lee, in the first minute, only this time, he didn't knock him out, he choked him.

Eliseu Zaleski fights great in the standing and is very good on the ground. Of course, he is not a "legendary" fighter, but he still deserves to be mentioned. He has thirteen fights in the UFC and a first-round knockout win over Sean Strickland, the welterweight champion.

He is a top fighter and will give his best. I rate this opponent very highly and consider him the best outside of the top 15 in the welterweight division. If it weren't for his two-year suspension, he would be ranked much higher.

Rinat Fakhretdinov

Eliseu Zaleski is currently riding a two-fight winning streak, most recently over Abubakar Nurmagomedov.

Rinat Fakhretdinov has felt the blood and is unlikely to change his tactics/ He will be aggressive from the start with strikes and then, depending on the situation, either go for the takedown or back his opponent up against the cage. Will Zaleski be able to handle that kind of pressure? We don't think so.

He struggled even against Abubakar Nurmagomedov, and it's hard to compare him and Fakhretdinov. In addition, a year and a half of inactivity (disqualification for banned substances) has taken its toll on the Brazilian. Now he is already 36 years old, his conditioning and reflexes have been lost and are unlikely to be restored.