UFC Baku: Fiziev-Torres Prediction, Fight Card Odds
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- Rafael Fiziev (13-5) meets Manuel Torres (17-3) in Saturday's UFC Fight Night main event at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan, with the main card at 12 p.m. ET and prelims at 9 a.m. ET on Paramount+.
- Fiziev enters on a 1-4 stretch that includes two losses to current lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, but told CBS Sports' Brian Campbell that watching Gaethje's title win over Ilia Topuria motivated him.
- Torres has finished every fight but one in Round 1, breaking into the lightweight rankings with knockouts of Drew Dober and Grant Dawson, and told Wednesday's media day he plans to 'impose' his pace and win early.
- Shara "Bullet" Magomedov, nearly perfect in the Octagon, faces explosive middleweight Michel Pereira in the co-main event.
- The card also features ranked flyweights Asu Almabayev vs. Charles Johnson plus separate bouts for Ikram Aliserkov and Abus Magomedov.
- Expert pick: Fiziev by KO in Round 3 — reasoning that Torres is powerful but unrefined, and Fiziev's patience, striking finesse and experience will win out if the fight extends past Round 1.
Why it matters: Fiziev (33, on a 1-4 slide with two Gaethje losses) needs a statement win to stay in the lightweight title picture, while Torres — whose ranking résumé includes KO'ing Dober and Dawson — gets his first test against a top-tier, seasoned striker. A Torres upset pushes a Round-1 finisher into genuine contender conversation; a Fiziev win keeps alive a Gaethje-era rematch storyline.
