In the bantamweight bout, two solid contenders will share the octagon. Cody is experienced compared to his rival, but Said is true talent from Makhachkala.
Cody has excellent wrestling skills. Even though Merab Dvalishvili outwrestled him, it does not change that Cody has excellent wrestling skills. Also, even though he has a tiny reach, he has hazardous boxing skills to close the distance. He is on two losing streaks, and he suffered losses against the current #6 ranked bantamweight, Merab Dvalishvili, and very experienced veteran, Jimmie Rivera. His last victory was against Brian Kelleher, which he earned in a war. He also ended up a draw against one of the most talented fighters and the #1 ranked prospect of the UFC (Under 24), Yadong Song.
Said Nurmagomedov is a fantastic fighter. He has excellent striking skills, but also wrestling skills too. Of course, his wrestling is unique because he is from Dagestan and is a teammate of Khabib. His sparring partner is Umar Nurmagomedov (UFC bantamweight), which already says a lot. His only loss in the UFC is against Brazilian Raoni Barcelos, and I genuinely believe that this Brazilian guy will defeat lots of top contenders. Said earned 3 victories in the UFC. One victory is against Ricardo Ramos, who is relatively famous than other fighters. In his last fight, he earned a KO victory against Mark Striegl.
Russian fighters will have a massive reach advantage. His reach is 178 CM, 14CM longer than Cody’s reach. Said will open this bout as the favorite with the odds 1.5. I don’t think he will earn KO victory since it is tough to finish Cody. Mentally, Cody is a powerful guy, and he always keeps moving forward. Still, I believe that Said will earn a unanimous decision victory because I don’t see Cody holding Said, the teammate of Khabib, on the ground for the whole 15 minutes.
