Shamil Gaziev vs Thomas Petersen Prediction: Easy One for Shamil

On February 1, Saudi Arabia's hosting an UFC tournament. The main event is going to be Israel Adesanya vs. Nassurdin Imavov, which should be awesome. Also, on the preliminary card, Shamil Gaziev is going to fight Thomas Petersen in a heavyweight match. According to the bookies, Shamil Gaziev's got the edge.

Shamil Gaziev

Shamil Gaziev fights under the flag of Bahrain, but he considers himself Russian. He says, "I'm Russian. I just represent Bahrain, since I fought for it in the amateurs. They led me, what the flag was, that's how it stayed. I don't know how it worked out. I live in Russia all the time. I have my family and parents here. I'm Russian, I have a Russian passport."

Gaziev made a name for himself in the Russian leagues, where he knocked out everyone left and right, and then continued to do the same and made it through Brave CF and Contender Series to the UFC in 2023. He started out in the strongest league with a knockout, but then suddenly stumbled in his next fight and was knocked out by Jairzinho Rozenstruik. In his last fight, Shamil Gaziev beat Don’Tale Mayes by unanimous decision. 

Thomas Petersen

29-year-old American Thomas Petersen hasn't done anything outstanding so far (apart from the LFA title), and of course he's not going to.

He is frankly an average fighter and even against the backdrop of the crisis in the heavyweight division, he is not in the top 15 of the division. The league needs him to fill the cards and to test promising fighters, which (again with a stretch) is probably Shamil Gaziev. Petersen's only had two fights at UCF so far. He lost by decision to Jamal Pogues and beat Muhammad Usman by decision.

Expert Betting Tips

Shamil Gaziev's last two bouts (a loss and a win on points) raise some questions. Something seems off about his confidence and how he goes after his opponent right from the start. But then again, UFC opponents (even if they're not the top) are a challenge for him, especially when it comes to takedowns and cardio.

Since both Gaziev and Petersen are fighters with a wrestling background, we wouldn't be surprised if most of the fight is spent on the ground and in the clinches, especially in the second half when they're tired.

Our picks:

W1 for 1.28 

TO (1.5) for 1.62 

TO (2.5) for 2.10