T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. USA.
At UFC 264, on the McGregor vs Poirier fight undercard, the Russian fighter Omari Akhmedov (No. 13 of the official ranking) will meet the American Brad Tavares (No. 15). The fight will take place in the middleweight division.
Omari Akhmedov: “Correct the mistake, I am the best middleweight in Russia”.
Omari Akhmedov has been fighting in UFC since 2013 and sometimes it seems like he has been here forever. Who can remember which promotion he joined the most powerful league in the world? I’m sure very few.
In his previous fight, Omari faced a Briton, Tom Brees, who since 2016 has been alternating wins and losses (his record at the time was 12-2), and fights rarely. Akhmedov did not experience any major problems in this fight, he enjoyed both beating the Englishman and beating him. In the end, in the second round, he just choked.
After I lost the last fight, I came home and my son asked me: “Daddy, you lost, didn’t you?”. He felt so bad. He didn’t watch it himself, but apparently, someone told him I lost. He was seven years old at the time. I told him, “No, son, I won. I didn’t lose at all, you were cheated”. And he immediately felt so relieved. And, you know, after that I had no desire to lose at all.
Brad Tavares: He’s not the same anymore
In 2018, Tavares came close to the very top, but was severely besieged and now begins a new ascent.
And just recently he thought he was better even than Israel Adesanya:
Everyone knows I was trying to get a fight with Michael Bisping. A win over the former UFC champion would have been a big achievement for my career. To be honest, I wasn’t too excited when I was given a fight with Israel Adesanya. Nevertheless, I’m motivated to participate in the main event of the evening and I intend to give a good performance in front of my audience. I have respect for Israel and I’m not going to look past him, but at the same time, I’m not too worried about the result. I’m better than him as a mixed style fighter and I think I’m capable of beating Adesanya even in the standup. I can beat him any way I want because my class is higher.
Expert Betting Tips
When the bookmakers first rolled out the odds, Omari Akhmedov was the favourite, but the closer the fight gets, the lower the odds on him falling.
We still advise betting on Akhmedov. He is progressing and getting better despite his age. I don’t see how he can lose to Tavares.
Other predictions
