This entire fight will come down to Melsik's takedown defense. Certainly Melsik can KO Naimov, we watched him get dropped against Nathaniel Wood, but can he defend Naimov's takedown attempts? I don't think so. I think Muhammed wrestles more than usual here and gets the win. I threw a half of a unit on him at -110 but will probably be sweating that bet until the fight is over.
Muhammad Niamov
Muhammad Naimov is a well rounded guy who prefers to strike, but can wrestle when he needs to and that is going to be key in this matchup. He is a fast, athletic guy with old school martial arts striking. He likes to plot forward and throw in combinations. If he closes the distance, he will clinch up and strike from there. He will actively defend takedowns early but if he's on the wrong side of exchanges he will shoot offensively. He is coming off the injury win over Erik Silva.
Melsik Baghdasaryan
Melsik Baghdasaryan is a very aggressive striker who is always moving forward. He has diverse striking and does a great job mixing things up. He has a long professional kickboxing background before MMA and you can see the technique shine in the Ocatgon, he will go to the body, he will use kicks and puts it all together really well. His forward pressure, power and diversity is very fun to watch but he does have grappling holes. He is coming off the decision win to Tucker Lutz where his striking looked good and he was tough, but he reminded us he has zero takedown defense.