Arman Tsarukyan vs. Damir Ismagulov: UFC Fight Night 216 Odds, Prediction

Ismagulov is pegged at No. 12 on the UFC lightweight rankings after recording a split decision win over Guram Kutateladze six months ago at UFC Austin, which marks his fifth straight contest to get decided by the judges. Ranked eighth in the UFC 155-pound division, Tsarukyan is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Mateusz Gamrot in the main event at UFC Vegas 57, putting the brakes on a steady five-fight win streak.

Tsurukyan has emerged as a strong -185 favourite on the UFC Fight Night 216 odds, while Ismagulov trails as a +145 underdog. The odds of this contest going OVER 2.5 rounds are listed at a lofty -255.

Arman Tsarukyan UFC Fight Night

A submission specialist early in his career, Tsarukyan has steadily evolved his fight game since leaving Russia and joining the UFC three years ago. The 26-year-old has seen eight of his past 12 overall fights go the distance, including six of seven UFC contests, with the Tsarukyan finishing opponents by KO or TKO in the other four clashes during that stretch.

While far from a prolific striker, Tsarukyan has out-struck opponents in each of his past six outings, often by wide margins. That includes his most recent date with Mateusz Gamrot, with whom he went a full five rounds before losing by split decision, largely due to Gamrot’s success on the mat.

Gamrot was successful in taking Tsarukyan down six times, and establishing control for almost five minutes. But while he struggled with level changes against Gamrot, Tsarukyan has otherwise enjoyed success as a grappler, averaging a respectable 2.71 takedowns per 15 minutes, and racking up 17 total takedowns in seven career UFC outings.

Damir Ismagulov UFC Fight Night

Ismagulov has quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with since joining the UFC just over four years ago. The 31-year-old has extended his impressive unbeaten run with five straight victories in the octagon, all by decision, with his most notable win coming last time out versus Guram Kutateladze.

The question now is whether “Qazaq” can maintain his torrid streak on Saturday against arguably his toughest opponent to date.

Indeed, Ismagulov was lucky to eke out the victory against Kutateladze, who finished almost dead even with him in strikes, and executed the lone takedown in the contest. That marks a big change after he dominated while earning the unanimous decision in each of his previous four UFC contests. However, Ismagulov matches up well against Tsarukyan, both in striking ability and endurance, as well as his ability to execute and defend against takedowns.

Tsarukyan vs. Ismagulov UFC Fight Night Prediction

Both these fighters have proven their ability to go deep in fights, and each possess the ability to end things quickly with devastating punching power. Accordingly, look for this contest to go a full three rounds, with the value to be found in Ismagulov extending his win streak to 20.

Prediction: Ismagulov by points or technical decision (+235)