Aiemann Zahabi vs. Qileng Aori Prediction: UFC 289 Betting Odds

Jeremy Perry
June 8, 2023

He’ll take on Aori Qileng in the second fight from the preliminary card. Qileng is an uber-aggressive striker while Zahabi likes to be more patient and pick his spots. The fight is a tossup as at last check, the odds were -110 both ways. Let’s take a closer look to see what’s the best bet on the board for this showdown.

Aiemann Zahabi vs. Qileng Aori Betting Odds

Qileng Aori -120
Aiemann Zahabi -110

Date: Saturday, June 10, 2023 – 9:00 PM ET

Location: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

Aiemann Zahabi

Aiemann Zahabi is a Canadian-born fighter that hasn’t really been in the Octagon a lot over the years. Considering he’s been with the promotion since 2017, it’s interesting to note that he’s only fought five times in that span.

The 35-year-old is entering this matchup with a two-fight winning streak after he took down both Drako Rodriguez and Ricky Turcios, a couple of incredibly difficult matchups for him that he overcame. Turcios, in particular, is a matchup that stood out as he is a very aggressive fighter that wasn’t able to get much accomplished against Zahabi, meaning Zahabi could have good success against a similarly aggressive Aori.

Zahabi is 9-2 over the course of his career with seven stoppages, five of which coming in the form of a knockout. To make it more impressive, three of those five knockouts happened in less than half of a single round. Zahabi has some fire behind those punches and will look to be patient and get his openings on counters against the aggressive Aori.

Qileng Aori

Qileng’s nickname is “The Mongolian Murderer”, which foreshadows the strategy that he’ll bring to Saturday’s fight as he does to all of them. He’s aggressive, moves forward and worries about the consequences later.

He’s stepping into the Octagon with a 24-9 record, but not all of that was from the UFC. His first two UFC fights resulted in losses, which is why he moved to the 135-pound division. Since then, he’s picked up back-to-back wins (against Cameron Else and Jay Perrin). While those look good on paper, both Else and Perrin hadn’t won a fight in their UFC careers up to that point.

One area of concern is his lack of a ground game. He’s been taken advantage of when the fight goes to the mat often. Luckily, Zahabi isn’t a dangerous grappler, so this fight should mostly be fought standing up. That’s where Aori is awfully aggressive fighter where he connects on 6.07 strikes per minute.

Zahabi is decent all-around but he doesn’t really excel in any one area. He’s a decent wrestler and an above average striker, and he finds good opportunities on the counter. That might be enough here. However, Aori is a very dangerous striker and as long as this fight is fought standing, he should be in good shape. His pace and activity should help him here – even if he doesn’t get the knockout.