Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov prediction, pick, start time for UFC on ABC 8
Nikolas Motta and Nazim Sadykhov meet Saturday on the main card of UFC on ABC 8 at Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
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Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov UFC Baku preview
Motta (15-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) enters his first fight of the year on the heels of back-to-back wins in 2024. Last January, he finished Tom Nolan in the first round, followed by a unanimous decision over Hayisaer Maheshate. The hard-hitting lightweight has finished 10 of his 15 victories by KO or TKO. ... Sadykhov (10-1-1 MMA, 3-0-1 UFC) has only suffered one defeat in his career, which came in 2018. Since then, he's gone unbeaten, winning 10 and drawing once – the only time he's reached the scorecards in the UFC. In his last outing in February, Sadykhov won a doctor's stoppage TKO over Ismael Bonfim.
Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov UFC Baku expert pick, prediction
Serving as a solid action fight at lightweight is a battle between Nazim Sadykhov and Nikolas Motta.
Sadykhov, a savvy southpaw who has long been hailed as a prospect by the legendary Serra-Longo camp, has followed his stablemate Merab Dvalishvili to Las Vegas to train with coach John Wood and the Syndicate MMA crew.
This change hasn't appeared to be drastic for Sadykhov, but the Azerbaijani native is one of many fighters on this card with a more deceptive resume than meets the eye.
Aside from the fact that Sadykhov lost two rounds to Evan Elder and Viacheslav Borschev without having to suffer a single loss, the 31-year-old tends to find himself in deceptively close fights where either cuts or scorecards have arguably bailed him out.
Motta, on the other hand, had a handful of bad performances early on in his UFC career that came amid a slew of camp changes and short-notice bookings that subsequently caused everyone from the bookmakers to the gamblers to continually disrespect his chances despite his recent results.
Motta is still a kill-or-be-killed fighter for the most part, but the Brazilian has made some measurable improvements to his overall game since splitting his time between his home bases of Xtreme Couture MMA and Bangtao Muay Thai.
Now, Motta appears to be in the best shape of his life, showing more tools at range and improved pacing and grappling. Motta also shows the style of leg kicks and shoveling body shots that previous Sadykhov opponents have found success with.
Don't get me wrong: Sadykhov is the deserved favorite and no one should be shocked if he replicates the murder scenes that Manual Torres and Jim Miller made before him.
That said, we can't ignore the fact that power is a potent two-way street, and Motta has way too much of it for Sadykhov to be this heavily favored with his fast-and-loose style. For that reason, I suspect that the southpaw killer that is Motta's left hook will be live for as long as this fight lasts.
A decision win isn't totally out of the question, but I'll take an unpopular flier on Motta to shock the world by catching Sadykhov cold in round 1.
Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov UFC Baku odds
The oddsmakers and the public heavily favor the hometown fighter, listing Sadykhov -430 and Motta +320 via FanDuel.
Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov UFC Baku start time, how to watch
Motta and Sadykhov are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 3:40 p.m. ET. The fight broadcasts on ABC, ESPN and ESPN+.
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