Now that the formalities are out of the way—let’s talk about this gloriously absurd collision of muscle, motion, and mayhem. Tom Aspinall moves like a lightweight who accidentally woke up in a heavyweight’s body, while Ciryl Gane floats around the cage as if he’s auditioning for Dancing with the Fists. It’s the irresistible force versus the extremely polite, well-balanced French object. One brings violent efficiency; the other brings footwork smooth enough to butter croissants.

And don’t blink between fights, because the co-main event could turn into a jiu-jitsu fever dream: Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern for the vacant Strawweight crown. Expect armbar attempts flying faster than influencer sponsorship deals. Meanwhile, Jailton Almeida and Alexander Volkov are back to test the limits of human grappling endurance—will it end in a thunderous KO or just a long, sweaty cuddle session? Either way, Abu Dhabi’s about to host one of the year’s wildest cards.

Here are our official fight predictions for the card.

• Aspinall vs. Gane = Aspinall
• Jandiroba vs. Dern = Dern ✔️
• Nurmagomedov vs. Bautista = Nurmagomedov ✔️
• Volkov vs. Almeida = Volkov ✔️
• Rakić vs. Murzakanov = Murzakanov ✔️
• Haqparast vs. Salkilld = Haqparast ❌
• Aliskerov vs. Jun-yong = Aliskerov ✔️
• Klein vs. Rębecki = Klein ✔️
• Walker vs. Sutherland = Walker ✔️
• Wood vs. Delgado = Wood ✔️
• Abdelwahab vs. Barnett = Abdelwahab ✔️
• Maksum vs. Raposo = Maksum ❌
• Amorim vs. Inoue = Amorim ❌