Prediction for the fight Ali Bagov vs Daud Shaykhaev

At the ASA 177 tournament, which will be held on June 28 in Sochi, at the Ice Dom facilities, the long-awaited rematch between ex-champion Ali Bagov and Daud Shaikhaev will take place for many. In 2023, Daoud managed to take the victory in a very close and intense fight, so it is not surprising that as part of the new Grand Prix, they will meet again in the cage, but this time they will receive two more additional rounds in order to determine the strongest.

• Ali Bagov vs Daud Shaykhaev;
• Daud Shaykhaev;
• Ali Bagov;
• Comparative analysis;
• Game Totals Prediction.

Ali Bagov vs Daud Shaykhaev

Daud Shaykhaev

Daud, like his opponent, is a supporter of fights on the ground. He is the champion of the Chechen Republic in combat sambo, a prize winner of the Russian Cup in grappling, but with all this, Shaykhaev is quite good in the stand-up, and there he is capable of doing much more than a standard parterist in the minds of ordinary people. 

Strengths

Dowd is very good in attack, he feels confident in fighting at the net, knows how to kick and has a knockout punch, even if it doesn’t come to that very often. However, he is also successful in defense, creating sweeps, changing positions and counterattacking, so you can’t relax with him, even when everything is good at first glance. At the same time, the fighter has good stamina. 

Weaknesses

Daoud's defeats are mostly due to his poor preparation in a particular camp. Sometimes he “overslept” blows, due to which he lost, and sometimes during the fight he could miss the opponent’s attack. But in his case, with optimal form, there are no serious disadvantages to talk about. 

The current form and readiness of the fighter

The fighter is 29 years old, he is on a streak of 9 victories and has not lost for almost 5 years. His main victories in recent years: Mukhamed Kokov, Ali Bagov, Hakran Diaz and others. Shaikhaev is in excellent shape and has gained the best momentum of his entire career. Right now he has come close to his main goal - the ACA champion title, so the issue of motivation and desire to win can not be touched upon here at all. Moreover, he already has a victory over Bagov, and in the first fight, let us remember, Daud was not in the best condition due to injuries in the camp. 

Ali Bagov

Ali became a champion back in the days of the DIA, then confirmed this status in the ASA. His grappling talents were forged at the World Martial Arts Games, as well as the Russian Championships, where he became the best 4 times. Bagov has considerable experience in freestyle wrestling and combat sambo, but he also showed his best in jiu-jitsu, winning the world twice. Actually, due to this base, he succeeded in MMA. 

Strengths

Big and muscular, Ali is extremely good on the ground floor, where his control, as well as spamming attacks, including both strikes and submissions, force the opposition to think only about getting up and getting out of there as quickly as possible. Although he can do something in a standing position, he hits kicks quite tightly before approaching, and does not skimp on powerful blows, but here his arsenal is much narrower than on the ground. 

Weaknesses

Bagov has two fundamental problems: stand-up defense and cardio. Because of his aggressive style, with high-class guys, he loses a lot of strength and by the 3rd round, he can lose ground, looking not as formidable as at the start. And if we are talking about good takedown defense against an opponent, then problems may even arise, but it rarely came to this. 

The current form and readiness of the fighter

“Hulk” is 34 years old, and his statistics, if we take the last 5 fights, consist of 3 victories, one canceled fight and a loss to that same Shaykhaev. In the last fight, he managed to defeat Artem Reznikov, and before that Koshkin, and the story of the “friendly fight” against Rashid Magomedov is already known to everyone. Bagov has enormous experience in martial arts, he is still in good shape and plans to become a champion again. Functionally, Ali can still surprise, so his willingness to best Dawood in a rematch is something to be reckoned with. 

Comparative analysis

Shaykhaev will be slightly taller than his opponent, but in overall power and size, he is inferior to him. If we take into account their first fight, we can say that Bagov's main weapon, which is wrestling, in this case is only partially decisive. Daoud confidently countered Ali's attacks, often found himself on top, and defended well from submissions, and their "Hulk" has fought 24 times in his career - the number speaks for itself.

Then they had 3 rounds, and now they have five, plus a place in the Grand Prix final is also at stake, so in the rematch, everything will be even tighter, tougher and it’s unlikely that anyone will give up at the moment - we’re waiting fight bone to bone. Perhaps in the final stages Bagov will sag again and will no longer be able to dominate on the ground, which will allow Shaikhaev to impose his game and take points for victory. But the recent fight with Reznikov showed that Ali also knows how to breathe in the championship segments, so it will be extremely difficult for Dowd.

The fight will largely take place at the net and on the ground, with small sessions of exchanging blows in the standing position, and given the quality of defense of both on the ground, the fight could drag on for a long time "Total over" (4.5). It is in Daoud’s interests to have time to do something in the striking technique, since here the opposing block is very lame, and only after that, to develop success below. However, the chances of winning here are 50 to 50, and only a blunder on one of the sides will play a role. 

Ali Bagov vs Daud Shaykhaev Prediction

The matchup is intriguing and definitely competitive considering what we've seen from them before. Ali is much more experienced, but Daoud is younger and is ready to show the ex-champion how skilled fighters the representatives of the new school of martial arts are. It’s not easy to choose someone specific as the winner here, because a lot will depend on whether Shaikhaev can catch his opponent in the standing position and breathe him out when they start to fight. With the greatest probability, this fight will end in a decision of the judges, either in the final round, because "Total over" (4.5) in rounds, or if the values are lower closer to the meeting, looks like the most logical option for making a bet. Download 1xbet to your phone and place a bet on the favorite!

Prediction: "Total over" (3.5-4.5) in completed rounds