Daniel Cunningham
Tomorrow night in the co-main event of UFC 327, we are going to see a banger of a matchup in the light heavyweight division. Undefeated knockout artist Azamat Murzakanov (16-0) will put his undefeated record on the line against former middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa (15-4).
Odd matchmaking here but it’s a fun matchup. Murzakanov is currently ranked 6th at light heavyweight while Costa is ranked 14th at middleweight. Costa is coming off a very good win against Roman Kopylov last July but that win came on the heels of a 1-4 stretch dating back to his lone title shot. The only win he had in there was against Luke Rockhold.
Murzakanov came to the UFC via The Contender Series back in 2021. Since then, all he’s done is win. Inside the octagon, he’s a perfect 6-0 with only one fight going the distance. in his last fight, Murzakanov knocked out Aleksandar Rakic with a jab in the first round.
UFC 327 Prediction
When I first thought about this fight, I thought about the same thing I thought about ahead of Murzakanov’s fight with Rakic. I figured the speed and overall striking technique would favor Paulo Costa. However, I just can’t bring myself to pick Costa at UFC 327.
He looked great in his last fight, but it’s really tough for me to look beyond his record dating back to his title fight with Israel Adesanya. I think the power that Murzakanov carries is real and I think it’s going to hurt Costa and make him hesitate to engage. I’m going to see that Murzakanov gets a stoppage here and keeps his undefeated record.
Prediction: Azamat Murzakanov by TKO
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