The UFC is back on the road this week in Azerbaijan. In the main event, Manuel Torres looks to take a big leap forward in the lightweight division as he takes on Rafael Fiziev. This UFC Baku card is loaded up with incredible fights with some great spots to look for some high-value MMA bets, picks, and predictions.
In today’s column, we’re looking for the best play on the entire slate of prelim fights for you to exploit. Come check out our best bet for these UFC Baku prelims.
Go here for more UFC picks!
CHECK OUT THE SPORTS GAMBLING PODCAST’S DAILY BEST BETS
Prelim Pick of the Week: UFC Baku
UFC Middleweight Fight: Nursultan Ruziboev vs Andrey Pulyaev
Start Time: Saturday (6/27) 9:00am EST (Paramount+)
When the UFC kicks off in the early hours on Saturday, we’ll have a mismatch at middleweight. Despite the clear discrepancy in skills, there is still a fairly close line that we can exploit.
Returning to the cage for the first time in over a year is Nursultan Ruziboev. He’s had a productive run in the UFC that’s seen him go 4-1 with three knockouts. His only loss came to top ten ranked Joaquin Buckley in a fight where he was outgrappled badly. Luckily for him, he enters a fight where that’s unlikely to happen again. Andrey Pulyaev has shot eight takedowns in his UFC career and landed just one. That netted him just over a minute of top control time.
Not only is the grappling not a threat for Ruziboev, but he should find himself with a massive advantage on the feet. He hits like a truck and Pulyaev has been rather hittable in his UFC stint. He was knocked around for 116 total strikes against Christian Leroy Duncan and dropped twice against Ateba Gautier. With Ruziboev having logged four knockdowns in five UFC fights and nearly as many knockouts, it’s hard to imagine Pulyaev taking those shots.
UFC Baku Prelim Pick: Nursultan Ruziboev ML (-200)
SGPN Daily Content for June 22nd, 2026
Don’t Forget About our Free Picks Pages Too!
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PICKS – THE PICKS POWERHOUSE
SOCCER PICKS – KICK IT ON THE PITCH
NASCAR PICKS – FEEL THE THUNDER
UFC PICKS – TAKE DOWN CORPORATE GAMBLING
If you’d like even more info to help make your MMA and UFC picks and predictions for UFC Baku, check out the MMA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
