UFC fight night: Moreno vs. Royval 2
Erik Silva vs. Muhammad Naimov (Featherweight)
Erik Silva (9-2) +275
Venezuelan fighter Erik Silva will be looking to get his first UFC win this weekend. Silva is 0-1 in the organization after a 3rd round debut loss by arm triangle to Tj Brown back in December of 2022.Though he suffered defeat Silva showed both takedown offense and takedown defense capabilities in his Debut vs an experienced Brown. His submission loss came late in round 3 after being dropped by a right hand in the early seconds of the same round. Silva came onto the scene with a first round Ground and Pound win over Anvar Boynazarov in Dana White’s Contender Series, prior to that Silva finished 4 straight fights via Rear Naked Choke in Lux Fight League. Silva’s opponents have a combined record of 81-26-2.
Vs
Muhammad Naimov (10-2) -160
Native to Tajikistan fighting out of Elevation Fight Team in Denver Colorado, Naimov is 2-0 in the UFC and took his debut fight on just 4 days’ notice. Stepping up a weight class for his debut to compete at the lightweight division, Silva emerged with a KO win over Jamie Mullarkey in the 2nd round with a vicious overhand right. A few months later he followed up his debut with a Unanimous decision win over seasoned UFC vet Nathaniel Wood who was then on a 3-fight win streak of his own.
Both of Naimov’s UFC wins came in the latter half of 2023 showing to be the much more active fighter as of late. Naimov’s professional opponents have a combined record of 84-34-2.
** Both fighters have shown ability to grapple in the UFC early in their careers. On the feet, however, Naimov has shown to have quick movement and lethal power in his striking where Silva tries to slow down the fight and look for a take down or clinch. Naimov looks to have the advantage in the striking department as well as being an overall faster paced fighter. Silva may look to jump on a submission at any time as he attempted multiple times in his debut. If you are looking to bet on a decision keep in mind that Naimov has thrown low blows to his opponents’ manhood in both of his UFC fights thus far. Naimov’s right hand as well as his spinning kicks could prove to be serious problems for Silva this Saturday.
TheCombatBreakdown’s pick- Muhammad Naimov KO/TKO
Victor Altamirano vs Felipe dos Santos (Flyweight)
Victor Altamirano (12-3) +240
Born in Mexico City, Mexico, Victor “El Magnifico” Altamirano is 2-2 in the UFC. Altamirano is a Karate style fighter. In his most recent appearance, he lost to UFC veteran Tim Elliot via unanimous decision.
Before coming to the UFC Victor won a split decision win over Carlos Candelario (an undefeated professional fighter) on Dana White’s Contender Series. Altamirano made his UFC debut in February of 2022 against then 7-1 professional fighter also making his UFC debut Carlos Hernandez. This was a high pace competitive fight, both fighters were within one significant strike and one takedown of each other, and Hernandez took the bout with a split decision. Bouncing back from this loss Altamirano returned to the cage 6 months later where he defeated Daniel Lacerda da Silva with a 1st round TKO by way of ground and pound after dropping Lacerda with a brutal knee to the solar plexus.
In El Magnifico’s 3rd fight in the UFC he fought Vinicius Salvador where he won a Unanimous decision. In this fight Altamirano showed his abilities to mix in takedowns with his striking, keeping his opponent guessing throughout the fight. Though he boasted multiple takedowns throughout the bout he was not extremely successful at keeping his opponent on the ground. Another thing to note from this fight is Altamirano’s willingness to throw spinning attacks, landing multiple spinning wheel kicks and spinning backfists.
In his fight vs UFC veteran Tim Elliot, Altamirano was taken down 6 times and controlled for nearly 12 minutes of the 3 round fight. Nearly the entire fight was Elliot landing ground and pound from Altamirano’s guard.
A final thing to note for Victor Altamirano is that his two UFC wins come against opponents with a now combined UFC record of 0-6. His professional opponents combined record is 107-34-1.
Vs.
Felipe dos Santos (7-1) -298
Felipe dos Santos is 0-1 in the UFC. In September of 2023 Santos made his UFC debut across from a 10th ranked Manel Kape, where he lost a Unanimous decision. This fight was a 3 round highly competitive technical brawl on the feet. Though Felipe lost, he proved to be an exciting, well rounded, durable fighter. The difference maker in the fight was the power of Kape, both fighters landed many shots but Kapes seemed to have more of an impact even though they never slowed down Dos Santos for a second. Note that Manuel Kape has finished 11 of his 16 wins via KO/TKO. I look forward to seeing this fight again down the road as a possible title or contenders fight.
Felipe dos Santos is a teammate of Charles Olivera, and to quote Daniel Cormier’s fight commentary, “ he looks like a young Charles Olivera”. Dos Santos is a 23 year old Brazilian that looks like he has all the makings of a high level UFC fighter despite being 0-1 in the UFC.
Dos Santos’ professional opponents have a combined professional record of 42-12.
** This is a fight between two young fighters looking to make names for themselves in the Organization. From watching all of their fights in the UFC so far I would say that this fight is going to be a high pace exciting fight from start to finish.
TheCombatBreakdown’s pick- Felipe Dos Santos by decision.