Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs Felipe Bunes Prediction: Last Chance for Zhalgas

On the night of June 18 in Las Vegas, another UFC tournament will take place. In one of the fight preliminary cards, Kazakh fighter Zhalgas Zhumagulov will meet a Brazilian, Felipe Bunes. The bout will take place in the lightest weight category. Interestingly, Bunes is already the third appointed opponent for Zhumagulov within the last month - the two previous fights were canceled. We are worried about Zhalgas - such stress and uncertainty interfere while preparing.

Zhalgas has been making us concerned about him since 2020, five defeats in six fights - it's no good. He was not dismissed from UFC for two reasons: almost all his defeats were disputable judges' decisions. And he has a huge fan base, which is very important for the promotion.

His last fight happened in November against Charles Johnson (11-3 record). Zhalgas took the first round without any questions. He was striking more often, more accurately, more powerfully, seizing the initiative. In the second round, there was a clash, but Charles was knocked down. In the third one, the uncompromising fight continued, and Johnson, not for the first time, dealt a forbidden blow to the groin. Zhumagulov was suffering but survived. Judges gave the victory to the Americans by split decision, which. According to almost all experts, this was another unconscionable robbery of Zhalgas.

Bunes is making his UFC debut, and before that, he was the LFA champion and had several fights in the Russian leagues. Bunes has an advantage over Jalgas in anthropometry. He trains in the same gym as Henry Cejudo, going on a two-fight winning streak. His strength is wrestling, but he can also hit - he won the LFA title by TKO.

The bookmakers see Zhalgas as a favorite, and we agree with that. The cornered animal is twice as dangerous, and Zhumagulov has nowhere to retreat. He won't look for compromises anymore. The stakes are very high in the UFC and in MMA in genera. So Zhalgas needs a bright, convincing, and spectacular victory.

It will be difficult for the Brazilian not to buckle under the pressure. He has no experience with such brutal bouts, and there are questions about his stamina.