T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. USA
At UFC 264, on the Poirier vs McGregor fight undercard, Kazakh fighter Zhalgas Zhumagulov will face American Jerome Rivera. The bout will take place in the featherweight division. Neither fighter is in the UFC top 15.
It is the most important fight for both. Zhalgas has two fights in the UFC and lost both. The American has three fights in the UFC and lost all three, so each of them needs not just a win, but a spectacular one.
Zhalgas Zhumagulov: No confident victories, no inevitable defeats, always very close
Zhumagulov won the Fight Nights Global title in 2018 in a somewhat controversial fight with Tagir Ulanbekov, and defended it a year later in an equally controversial fight with Ali Bagautinov. Then moved to the UFC, where things haven’t worked out so far.
For my third fight, I’m preparing like never before. I’m always ploughing on, putting myself out there. This time, I’ve corrected all my mistakes regarding weight training, fighting, stamina and everything else. Whatever it takes, I’m doing it to win! Kazakhstan, alga!
Jerome Rivera: The challenge is to get the fight to the ground
Rivera came to the UFC from the Contender Series and he’s not doing well here. But the fighter is experienced and will look to move the fight to the ground, where he has every chance of outboxing Zhumagulov.
Jerome’s favourite hold is the rear-naked choke, with which he has won three times. The only part of the excuse for his poor showing in the world’s biggest league is that he had to step in as a sub, as in two of the three occasions, he insured fights at a weight other than his own. In his last fight, he was knocked out in 26 seconds.
Zhalgas Zhumagulov characterized his opponent as follows:
I don’t care who I fight. I do not have that kind of backstabbing or giving up on my opponent, or underestimating the opponent, if given, it means I am at my level. The two of us with Rivera are hanging by a thread right now, if we lose, we’ll be dismissed. I’ve always had a dream, the UFC. I got here, but two opening fights were not in my favour, now I’m motivated, I’ll fight to the death. The important thing now is to have the right approach, so there’s no problem with my health, my weight. As for my opponent, he is very tall at 57kg, he fights in a left-hand counter, he has good ground work due to his long limbs, but in the rack, the fight is average.
Expert Betting Tips
We have faith in Zhumagulov, but the situation could well repeat itself. If Zhumagulov doesn’t finish Rivera, he may not get the win again on points. He needs not just success, but a dominant win, no question about it.
Bookmakers see Zhalgas as the favourite for odds of 1.28, and that’s not an exciting odds at all. The risks are enormous, and the profits are small. Either don’t bet on this fight at all or try to bet on the American for 3.56. If the fight is competitive, Rivera will win on points.
Other predictions
