UFC Fight Night 280 takes place tomorrow in Baku, Azerbaijan and we’ve got our predictions for all the fights below.

Main Card

Rafael Fiziev vs. Manuel Torres

Rafael Fiziev has won just once in his last five Octagon appearances as he now goes up against an in-form fighter in Manuel Torres, who is 5-1 in the UFC.

The 33-year-old Fiziev’s record of late doesn’t make for great reading, but all four of his losses were to top-flight competition in Justin Gaethje (twice), Mateusz Gamrot and Mauricio Ruffy, and in the middle of all that he had a long spell on the sidelines due to an ACL injury. That’s a worrying injury for any fighter, but particularly someone like Fiziev, whose impressive speed, agility and footwork are all integral parts of his dynamic muay thai striking game and also aid his quick takedown defense. Thankfully Fiziev athleticism hasn’t deserted him after his surgery, but there is a concern that his years of competing in both MMA and muay thai might be catching up to him.

The 31-year-old Torres wields an impressive reputation for finishing fights early, with all but one of his 17 career victories coming in the first round. As you might expect then Torres comes out of the blocks quickly with aggressive, high-volume striking, making full use of his quick hands and good kicks. Torres is versatile though, so he will also look for takedowns and has 7 wins by submission. Things haven’t always gone Torres way though as his three career losses have also came in the first five minutes by either strikes or submission, which means that in total he’ll only gone beyond the 1st round once in his entire career.

Torres is clearly a big danger early in the fight, and he’s got a lot less wear and tear too, but I do feel Fiziev is the better striking technician here and will be able to ride out the early storm and then use his experience, pacing and conditioning to take a five-round decision victory.

Pick: Rafael Fiziev wins by decision.

Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Michel Pereira

Shara Magomedov has won five of his six UFC fights to date and now squares up to Michel Pereira, who broke a three-fight slump with a split-decision win last time out.

The 32-year-old Magomedov is a fighter who enjoys digging deep into his impressive repertoire of strikes using all eight-limbs, and has a good ability to mix in eye-catching techniques in comfortably with more conventional strikes for three full rounds. He even managed to deliver a UFC-first double-spinning-backfist KO finish of Armen Petrosyan a few fights ago, and he’s also proven to have real stopping power in his well-timed knees as well. He can be hittable though, but has proven to be durable so far. Meanwhile, despite hailing from Dagestan, Magomedov has little interest in using wrestling or going to the mat in general.

It’s easy to see why these two have been matched-up as Pereira is also well known for his extremely diverse, dynamic and creative striking ability, particularly early in his UFC run where his capoeira-influenced style often saw him launching into jumping and spinning attacks. However, he quickly found out that at the UFC level those low percentage techniques could leave him hitting thin air and sap his gas tank. Some flashy strikers are never break out of that mould though, but not Pereira, as he managed to reign that in and fight in a more controlled manner, while also demonstrating solid wrestling chops too, leading him to a lengthy winning streak. A couple of years ago he suddenly seemed to lose his way, looking out-of-sorts and unusually lethargic during three defeats, with two of those coming via strikes. He has since edged out a split-decision win, but it feels too early to say whether he’s fully steadied the ship heading into this fight.

It’ll be interesting to see if Pereira can resist the urge to join Magomedov in putting on a striking exhibition here, but I suspect not as he does tend to be more reserved these days. The real issue for Pereira though is his inconsistent performances lately, and with Magomedov being the busier fighter offensively from start to finish I’ll take him to win by decision.

Pick: Shara Magomedov wins by decision.

Nazim Sadykhov vs. Matheus Camilo

Nazim Sadykhov is coming off his first loss in six UFC fights and now fights Matheus Camilo, is 1-1 so far.

The 32-year-old Sadykhov made an immediate impact in the UFC with four wins and a draw, including stopping Ismael Bonfim, Nicolas Motta, and Terrance McKinney, but he found the going tougher against Fares Ziam last time out, who was able to use his size advantage to outstrike him from range, while also having success with his wrestling. Still, Sadykhov continues to have solid striking technique, good footwork and pressures well, and has a couple of wins by submission on his record to go along with eight T(KO) finishes.

The 25-year-old Camilo was 9-2 when he arrived in the Octagon and lost by submission in his decision, before picking up a decision win over veteran Viacheslav Borschev. Camillo is a low‑volume striker by nature, but he does have solid boxing on the outside, respectable power, and will mix in low kicks too. That measured style from range limits the damage he takes, but his wrestling remains a weak point, and despite owning a couple of submission wins, all three of his career losses have come by submission.

I think this is a favorable match-up for Sadykhov as he’s the more active and effective striker and has the better ground game, which when combined should be enough to take him to a win on the scorecards.

Pick: Nazim Sadykhov wins by decision.

Asu Almabayev vs. Charles Johnson

Asu Almabayev has won his last two fights and now faces Charles Johnson, who has been shifting between wins and losses in his last five bouts.

The 32-year-old Almabayev built up a a lot of experience on the regional fight circuit and has put that to good use by going 6-1 in the Octagon so far, taking his overall career record to 23-3. Almabayev is not a big flyweight, but he’s physically strong, well‑conditioned, and fundamentally sound everywhere. His striking is serviceable without being a major finishing threat, but his real strength lies in his relentless wrestling with fast entries and good top control. From there he’s more than capable of working for a submission stoppage, but he’s also happy to grind out wins by decision too.

The 34-year-old Johnson has had an up‑and‑down UFC run at 8–6, but he’s produced some quality wins, including a knockout of current champion Joshua Van. He’s a big, athletic flyweight and will carry a notable 5‑inch height and reach advantage into this match-up. Johnson is primarily a striker, and while he’s not the cleanest technician, he is fast, powerful, and generally durable. That being said he did suffer his first TKO loss to Alex Perez in January. He can wrestle too at times, but though he also had a few submission wins earlier in his career, it’s not something we’ve seen during his time in the Octagon.

Johnson should have the edge in the striking exchanges here, aided by his size advantage. However, over three rounds, Almabayev’s repeated wrestling engagements should enable to take control and earn a decision win.

Pick: Asu Almabayev wins by decision.

Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferreira

Ikram Aliskerov went 2-0 in 2025 and now fights Brunno Ferreira, whose three-fight winning streak was brought to a halt by a KO loss last time out.

The 33-year-old Aliskerov has an overall 17-2 record, with his only losses being against two former UFC middleweight champions in Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker. A decorated Sambo fighter, Aliskerov has shown powerful, high‑volume striking in the UFC, delivering three first‑round finishes along the way, and he’ll have a 2″ height and 4″ reach advantage to work with on Saturday. Meanwhile he’s also physically strong and well-conditioned, has good wrestling and among his five submission victories are three by kimura.

The 33-year-old Ferreira is a muscular, aggressive middleweight who throws himself into battle while unleashing strikes with raw power rather than tidy technique. Meanwhile ‘The Hulk’s’ judo base adds depth to his takedowns options and clinch-work and he’s a threat with big ground-and-pound and submission on the mat. 14 of his 15 wins coming inside the distance. But along with his ferocity comes vulnerability as all three of his UFC losses have also come inside the distance.

Both fighters can be competitive wherever the fight goes here, but while they are both a bit suspect on the feet defensively I do think Aliskerov has more refined technique to go all with his power and will benefit from having better cardio too as he battles his way to a TKO finish in the 2nd round.

Pick: Ikram Aliskerov wins by TKO in Rd2.

Abusupiyan Magomedov vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk

Abus Magomedov’s is coming off a submission loss, but was on a three-fight winning streak beforehand. Now he fights Michal Oleksiejczuk, who is coming off three straight wins.

The 35-year-old Abus Magomedov was a seasoned fighter prior to joining the UFC, having already amassed nearly 30 career fights and fought his way to a PFL 185lb tournament final back in 2018. So far Magomedov has only gone 4-3 in the UFC though, but with the caveat that his losses were all against highly ranked opposition. He’s a well‑rounded, solidly built 185er with competent kickboxing, good power, and a steady wrestling and submission game. His lack of volume at times is a concern though, as his inconsistent cardio, while his submission loss last time out was the third such defeat of his career.

The 31-year-old Oleksiejczuk is a fast‑starting pressure striker with big finishing power and a long list of first‑round finishes to his name. His weaknesses are pretty much what you’d expect from someone with that gameplan though as he leaves defensive gaps, tends to become less dangerous as the rounds go on, and has real issues with his submission defense that’s led to six of his nine career losses.

Magomedov will need to be wary of getting drawn into a brawl in the opening round here, but if he leans on his wrestling, he should be able to stifle that danger and expose Oleksiejczuk’s grappling issues to secure a second‑round submission finish.

Pick: Abus Magomedov wins by submission in Rd2.

Prelims(Predicted winners in bold)

Farman Hasanov vs. Eric Nolan
Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev vs. Julius Walker
Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Andrey Pulyaev
Kaan Ofli vs. Javier Reyes
Daniil Donchenko vs. Theodor Berggren
Bekzat Almakhan vs. Jean Matsumoto
Tahir Abdullayev vs. Jefferson Nascimento