After an exciting trip North of the border, the UFC heads back to Sin City for UFC 333. The fight card is headlined by a couple of title fights. First Petr Yan will complete the trilogy with Merab Dvalishvili. Then Alexander Volkanovski will defend the featherweight belt against Russian grappler Movsar Evloev. There are tons of bangers on this card and it’s sure to have the crowd on its feet.
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 333 prelims.
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Prelim Pick of the Week: UFC 333
UFC Lightweight Fight: Grant Dawson vs Nurullo Aliev
Start Time: Saturday (10/24) 5:00pm EST (Paramount+)
Grant Dawson’s run in the UFC’s lightweight division can be frustrating at times. There are moments when he looks like a world-beater, but then he’ll get knocked out by some above average striking. While that is something that is hard to work on and might be a weakness for a long time, he shouldn’t have to worry about it on Saturday.
Nurullo Aliev has never scored a knock down – or even looked close – in a UFC fight. He spends most of his time looking to grind out wins against people who can’t keep up with his grappling. However, his defensive grappling has shown holes at times. He was taken down by both Shem Rock and Joe Solecki in their fights.
With Aliev averaging less than 30 significant strikes in a fight, he’s going to have to try to outgrapple Grant Dawson. With the track record we’ve seen from Dawson, particularly with the cardio, Aliev is going to have a hard time doing that.
UFC 333 Prelim Pick: Grant Dawson ML (-123)
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