After claiming victory in the middleweight competition on Season 29 of The Ultimate Fighter and dispatching the man he was original scheduled to face in the finale in his sophomore appearance in the Octagon, Battle dropped to welterweight last time out and debuted with a bang, collecting a 44-second knockout win over Takashi Sato. Now 9-1 for his career, Battle remains a developing work-in-progress with intriguing upside in the 170-pound weight class.
The 31-year-old Fakhretdinov made his promotional debut in June, grinding out a unanimous decision win over Andreas Michailidis to extend his winning streak to 15 and counting. He promised a better showing next time out following his successful debut, so it will be interesting to see if the Russian “Gladiator” can make good on his promise this weekend.
Athlete Profiles: Bryan Battle | Rinat Fakhretdinov
Battle, who steps in for Michael Morales, will earn “the biggest win of his career” with each subsequent victory, while Fakhretdinov is aiming to expedite his climb up the divisional ladder by earning a second UFC victory this year. Both have upside, and now it’s just a matter of finding out which one is ready to take another step forward this weekend.
David Dvorak vs. Manel Kape
This is an outstanding matchup poised to hit the Octagon early in the day as Top 15 flyweights David Dvorak and Manel Kape meet in what should be an explosive contest between 125-pound talents.
Dvorak had his lengthy winning streak snapped earlier this year by Matheus Nicolau, who has since further cemented his standing as a legitimate contender in the flyweight division with his recent stoppage win over Matt Schnell. The Czech “Undertaker” is a well-rounded competitor who hadn’t lost in nearly a decade prior to his last outings, so you can be sure he has no interest in dropping two straight.
The flamboyant and confident Kape stumbled out of the gate upon arriving in the UFC, dropping consecutive decisions to Alexandre Pantoja and Nicolau in his first two outings. He’s subsequently responded with first-round finishes of Ode’ Osbourne and Zhalgas Zhumagulov to bring his record inside the Octagon to level, and now looks to force his way into the Top 10 with a third consecutive victory.
Sergey Morozov vs. Journey Newson
Bantamweights get the show underway this weekend, as Sergey Morozov takes on Journey Newson in what should be an entertaining opener.
The 33-year-old Morozov has alternated losses and wins through his first four UFC appearances, dropping fights against Umar Nurmagomedov and Douglas Silva de Andrade, while collecting victories over Khalid Taha and Raulian Paiva. The American Top Team representative is 18-5 overall and should have an advantage on the ground over Newson if he can get it there this weekend.
Consistency has eluded Newson through his first four UFC appearances, as well, as the 33-year-old enters with a 1-2 record with one no contest. But he earned that solitary victory last time out at UFC 274 by thoroughly outworking Fernie Garcia in his first bout in 18 months, so it will be curious to see if he can build on that momentum here.
Bantamweight remains the most competitive and consistently entertaining division in the UFC, and this should be an exciting way to kick off the final card of 2022.