Preview: UFC 294 Prelims

Middleweights

Sedriques Dumas (8-1, 1-1 UFC) vs. Abu Azaitar (14-3-1, 1-1 UFC)

ODDS: Dumas (-205), Azaitar (+170)

This should be an engaging fight, even if it is hard to know what to expect from either participant. In Azaitar’s case, that is thanks to inactivity. Signed in 2017, “Captain Morocco” did not make his UFC debut until 2018 and has taken two and a half years off in between each of his fights. Azaitar’s debut showed him to be a fun slugger with enough aggression and physicality to outwork Vitor Miranda over three rounds, and his 2021 return against Marc-Andre Barriault went much the same way—until the point that he absolutely gassed, giving Barriault the opening to earn a third-round stoppage. Two and a half years later, he returns to take on Dumas, who is a difficult prospect to parse through two UFC fights. Dumas was certainly worth the flier for the UFC after his 47-second win on Dana White’s Contender Series. With an impressive 6-foot-2 frame, Dumas had run over a weak slate of competition on the regional scene but showed some impressive wrestling during his lone fight to go any sort of distance. However, after his UFC debut, it looked like his tenure with the promotion might become a bit of a disaster. A litany of distressing legal issues centered around Dumas came to light, and he looked underprepared in getting outwrestled and tapped by Josh Fremd. Dumas looked in much better form in his sophomore UFC bout against Cody Brundage in June. With that said, the clash also featured a particularly poor performance from Brundage, who repeatedly made poor grappling decisions in a wrestling-heavy fight. Azaitar is certainly the most dangerous opponent Dumas has faced to date, and it is quite unclear how the American will respond to taking a few hard punches. It is also hard to rely on Azaitar’s gas tank holding up for any length of time. The drop-off from the Miranda fight to the Barriault fight was quite concerning, and Azaitar is now firmly in his late 30s after this latest long layoff. Azaitar should get off to a hot start, but this seems like Dumas’ fight to lose if it goes past the opening frame. The pick is Dumas via third-round stoppage.

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