Preview: UFC Fight Night 162 ‘Maia vs. Askren’

Welterweights

Muslim Salikhov (15-2) vs. Laureano Staropoli (9-1)

ODDS: Salikhov (-175), Staropoli (+155)

After a bit of a slow start to his UFC career, it is nice to see Salikhov settling into a rhythm as an active fighter who should bring excitement every time out. A long championship career in wushu sanda means that Salikhov lives up to his “King of Kung Fu” nickname, and after spending his pre-UFC career knocking out opponents with spinning strikes, the Russian figured to do the same once he hit the Octagon. However, no one told Alex Garcia. As a result, Salikhov’s UFC debut saw him mostly get outwrestled by Garcia before getting choked out. Thankfully, Salikhov faced a fellow striker in his next bout and knocked out Ricky Rainey, and after dealing with some drug test issues, he picked up right where he left off in September, knocking out Nordine Taleb on the UFC 242 undercard. Salikhov is making up for lost time, as he was quickly re-booked for a fight on this card, where he will take on an underrated Argentinian talent in Staropoli.

He does not necessarily stick out in such a deep welterweight division, but Staropoli has been one of the more surprising prospects of the last year. “Pepi” was signed for the Buenos Aires card in November, and in looking at his regional fights, there was not much to suggest he would have been signed if the UFC did not need local talent. However, Staropoli has overachieved greatly. Beating Hector Aldana was actually a bit of an accomplishment, given what Staropoli had previously shown, and he won a striking match with Thiago Alves at UFC 237 in May. That is an immense feather in Staropoli’s cap, even as Alves nears retirement, and with a win here over Salikhov, he might just wind up joining countryman Santiago Ponzinibbio as a going concern at 170 pounds.

This should be an entertaining fight and an interesting contrast in approaches. For all his flash, Salikhov has proven to be a patient fighter in his UFC bouts, waiting for the precise moment to unleash heat and knock out his opponent. Meanwhile, Staropoli has made his bones, particularly in the Alves fight, through speed and volume, sometimes to a reckless degree. That approach worked well enough against Alves, who was unable to hit one big shot to make Staropoli pay, but needless to say, Salikhov can easily hit one big shot and win this fight. This fight basically comes down to whether or not Salikhov can take advantage of Staropoli’s lack of striking defense and hit him with something huge over the course of 15 minutes. While it is a close call, Staropoli probably does not know what he is in for here. The pick is Salikhov via second-round knockout.

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