UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov will air on December 9, 2016, in Albany, New York.
#10 DERRICK “THE BLACK BEAST” LEWIS (16-4-0, 1 NC) vs #15 SHAMIL “ABREK” ABDURAKHIMOV (17-3-0)
This is a five round main event in the heavyweight division. Lewis brings boxing with some grappling giving him 14 wins via knockout, thus making him one of the deadliest strikers in the heavyweight division. Abdurakhimov brings kickboxing, sanshou, and wrestling that have given him great striking power as well as grappling techniques. With both fighters having great striking this fight will be decided on who is more aggressive with them, which in this case falls in favor of Lewis with his extreme knockout power that has captured the attention of the entire heavyweight division. However, Abdurakhimov has much better grappling techniques that Lewis and so if he was able to get the fight to the ground he could place Lewis in major trouble. Though he will at the same time have to be very cautious of Lewis’ deadly striking in order to find his way to a win. My prediction: Lewis wins via knockout in Round 1.
#12 FRANCIS “THE PREDATOR” NGANNOU (8-1-0) vs ANTHONY “FREIGHT TRAIN” HAMILTON (15-5-0)
This is a three round co-main event in the heavyweight division. Ngannou brings boxing and some grappling leading him to become an efficient striker as well as a near perfect record. Hamilton brings gaidojitsu, jiu-jitsu and wrestling giving him striking power and cardio. This is another fight that will be decided on who has the better striking power which favors Ngannou since he is much more well-rounded in striking than Hamilton. I really don’t think Hamilton will be able to stand against the striking of Ngannou, unless Hamilton can use his wrestling and bring the fight to the ground. I really don’t see Hamilton standing a great chance in this fight. My prediction: Ngannou wins via knockout in Round 1.
#15 GIAN VILLANTE (14-7-0) vs SAPARBEK SAFAROV (8-0-0)
This is a three round fight in the light heavyweight division. Safarrov brings striking, jiu-jitsu and wrestling giving him great grappling and cardio. Villante brings kickboxing, jiu-jitsu and wrestling giving him great striking and cardio. With both of these fighters having both striking and grappling techniques, it will come down to who is more effective in using them. In that case, I believe Villante is a more well-rounded than Safarov to where he could use his grappling techniques to weaken Safarov and possibly put him away with his striking. Though Safarov will be putting pressure on Villante to try and keep him at bay from setting up any attacks that could be fatal. My prediction: Villante wins via knockout in Round 2.
