Neil Magny and Shavkat Rakhmonov face off on Saturday in a welterweight showdown for the co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Neil Magny comes into this game with a 26-9 record overall and he has won two fights in a row. In the last fight against Max Griffin in March of 2022 he was outstruck 67-54 but he still won by split decision. Each of the last six fights that Magny has been involved in has finished by decision. Magny is averaging 3.67 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 2.17 significant strikes per minute. Magny is averaging 2.37 takedowns every 15 minutes and he is successful on 40 percent of his takedown attempts. Magny is also stopping 58 percent of his opponent's takedown attempts.
On the other side of this matchup is Shavkat Rakhmonov who sits with a perfect 15-0 record and he has won his first three fights in the UFC. Rakhmonv’s last fight came against Carlston Harris in February of 2022 and it was in the first round that he finished the fight by knockout. The two previous wins were by submission. Rahkmonov is averaging 2.94 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 1.54 significant strikes per minute. He is also averaging 1.88 takedowns every 15 minutes but is only successful on 33 percent of his takedown attempts. He does however stop 100 percent of his opponent's takedown attempts. Rakhmonov also is averaging 1.9 submission attempts every 15 minutes.
Magny is a strong fighter that is durable, and this is no doubt the toughest test for Rakhmonov in his UFC career. The problem for Magny though is that Rakhmonov is the more well-rounded fighter, and Magny is going to have a big issue getting this fight to the ground. Magny is going to find a way to get this to the end, but this is going to be a dominant victory by Rakhmonov. Back Rakhmonov by decision.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
