Preview: UFC 296 Prelims

Welterweights

Randy Brown (17-5, 11-5 UFC) vs. Muslim Salikhov (19-4, 6-3 UFC)

ODDS: Brown (-270), Salikhov (+220)

Brown and Salikhov are fighters with high floors who have yet to get their one true breakout win, so this is a solid bit of matchmaking to see who can stay relevant. Brown came to the UFC back in 2016 as a 6-foot-3 welterweight with less than two years of pro experience under his belt, so hopes were high that “Rude Boy” could channel his physical potential into some impressive results. That has been true for Brown in moments, though consistency has eluded him. He tends to throw out a lot of ideas over the course of his fights, and for every spectacular finish Brown manages to snag, there is something that fails to work entirely and nearly costs him. At 33, Brown is probably close to a finished product, but for all his foibles, it still takes excellent fighters like Belal Muhammad, Vicente Luque and Jack Della Maddalena to beat him thanks to his physical gifts.

Salikhov might not clear that bar, but he should still be a tricky test. Salikhov came to the UFC in 2017 with some deserved hype, owing to his status as a multi-time world champion in wushu sanda, but his UFC debut saw him get handily outwrestled by Alex Garcia, raising some worry that Russia’s “King of Kung Fu” would wind up as a bust. Salikhov shored up those holes in his game to the point that he put together a five-fight winning streak to get into some prominent spots. However, he hit a fairly clear ceiling against Jingliang Li and Nicolas Dalby in recent fights. Salikhov is a dynamic fighter but favors accuracy over volume, and nearing 40 years of age, he is dealing with continually narrower margins when it comes to winning rounds. It is almost guaranteed that Brown will try something ill-advised and get cracked at some point during this fight, but he is quite difficult to completely put out, giving him the benefit of the doubt that he can lean on his reach and willingness to throw out volume in order to get this win over the finish line. The pick is Brown via decision.

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Brown vs. Salikhov