Verdict's Sleeper Fight of the Week: Fakhretdinov vs. Dalby
The UFC returns to Saudi Arabia with a fantastic Fight Night card. From top to bottom, the card is stacked with exciting matchups. While the main card is excellent, there are fights on the prelims that are overlooked, particularly Fakhretdinov vs. Dalby.
This fight takes place in the Welterweight (170 lbs.) division.
Rinat Fakhretdinov has a professional record of 21-1-1 and has won four of his last five fights with one draw. He has UFC victories over Kevin Lee, Bryan Battle, and Andreas Michailidis.
Nicolas Dalby has a professional record of 23-4-1 and has won four of his last five outings. He has UFC victories over Gabriel Bonfim, Muslim Salikhov, and Daniel Rodriguez.
Fakhretdinov is a well-rounded, dominant wrestler with one-shot knockout power. His striking sets up his grappling, constantly throwing looping hooks and overhands before closing space and pursuing takedowns. He’s powerful, capable of impressive slam takedowns and is very active in top position, constantly working to improve or throw ground and pound. Fakhretdinov has excellent wrist control, rarely allowing his opponents to attempt offense off their back. Training at American Top Team, he’s averaging over four takedowns landed per fifteen minutes and won’t often waste much time on the feet before looking for takedowns. He has the rank of Master of Sport in combat sambo and is very efficient on the feet and the ground, never wasting energy.
Dalby is a cardio monster, in perpetual motion and constantly pushing the pace. Favoring volume to power, he throws everything in combination and continuously switches stances, always entering the pocket from different angles. He varies his shots well, attacking the head and body evenly, never telegraphing anything. Dalby is averaging just over one takedown landed per fifteen minutes and has excellent clinch control, often wearing his opponent down against the fence with knees and elbows. Training at Rumble Sports, he’s never been finished and never stops coming at his opponent, constantly moving forward and unloading punches. He has solid takedown defense to back up his offensive grappling and is comfortable wherever the fight goes.
This is a fight you definitely won’t want to miss.
