Prediction for the fight Rinat Fakhretdinov vs Andreas Mikhailidis

The first representative of the Tatar people in the UFC, Rinat Fakhretdinov, has long been waiting for the opportunity to make his debut in the best promotion on the planet. And now, on June 5, he will have his first fight under the banner of this league, in which he will meet with the Greek athlete, Andreas Mikhailidis, who has been playing in the UFC since 2020.

For Fakhretdinov, this is an ideal opportunity to start a rapid climb in the ratings, since Andreas has a number of confrontations with well-known opposition, both in the Russian MMA arena and in Western organizations. Which of the guys will perform better at UFC Vegas 56, and snatch such an important victory? The answers will be given in our detailed forecast.

• Rinat Fakhretdinov vs Andreas Mikhailidis;
• Rinat Fakhretdinov;
• Andreas Mikhailidis;
• Comparative analysis;
• Game Totals Prediction.

Rinat Fakhretdinov vs Andreas Mikhailidis

Rinat Fakhretdinov

The past of "Gladiator" is closely connected with combat sambo and pankration. He became the champion of Moscow in both disciplines, took 2nd place in the Russian Championship in BS, and 3rd place in the same event in pankration. And when Rinat competed at a tournament among law enforcement agencies, he managed to win the title of world champion in combat sambo.

The debut in mixed martial arts was marked for Fakhretdinov by a gradual ascent to the championship in the GFC organization, but then the Russian went west to perform in front of Dana White and won his attention with a hard knockout in a fight with Eric Spicely. Now, he will have to demonstrate all his skills in the UFC octagon.

Strengths

Parterre is Rinat's element, in fact, as well as close combat. Transferring the attention of the opponent from one tier to another with sweeping blows, he constantly approaches and goes into the body or thighs of the opponent. Pressing and a lot of active, confusing actions open the way for the Gladiator to takedown.

Fakhretdinov's statistics include a lot of technical knockouts, and he got many of them in a horizontal position. Total control of positions and good condition allow him to break opponents with an endless stream of blows.

The athlete won about a third of the total number of victories by submissions, and four times of them it was a guillotine. He skillfully throws it even from a defensive position, thereby forcing opponents to switch from attack to defense.

Weaknesses

Rinat never stood out from the rest with some special striker skills. He charges hard, often hits overhands, does it on an enviable scale and gives himself away, even during the preparation of the blow. The absence of complex combinations, as well as the necessary sharpness, will definitely affect the quality of his performances in the future.

By the time it enters the octagon, Gladiator will have been out of business for a year and a half. This will definitely affect his performance, and on top of everything else, the excitement of entering such a big stage has every chance to spoil the quality of the actions performed.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

Fakhretdinov is 30 years old, and until the “pause” in his career, he went to a series of 17 victories, the last of which were obtained over the aforementioned Spicely, Johnny Carlos and Alberto Pereira. Without any doubt, during the downtime, Rinat improved his technique, he trained tirelessly, but, again, rust will not give him the opportunity to quickly join the fight, so you should expect the athlete to be able to increase momentum during the fight, and not from the very first minutes.

Andreas Mikhailidis

The Greek began his sports career with kickboxing and wrestling. Later, he developed skills through Jiu-Jitsu, reaching the level of a black belt there. Having settled in mixed martial arts, Andreas became the champion of the regional EFL promotion, speaking in the category up to 93 kg, as well as the CS organization, going down to the middle division.

During his thirteen year career as a pro, Mikhailidis has competed in the WFCA, Fight Nights Global, and Bellator leagues. Vladimir Mineev became his most eminent opponent, but the Greek athlete has not yet met the opposition known to the general public overseas.

Strengths

Andreas is an excellent striker, possessing not only knockout power, but also excellent technique and speed. He hits the low, dries the body powerfully, and is great at using combinations to probe holes in the opponent’s defense.

"Spartan" is not enough to shoot at the lower limbs alone. Lightning turntables, haikiki, straight kicks to the body - from all this he makes a single picture, adding a series of hands to it.

Andreas' attacking jiu-jitsu looks good: choke, kimura - all this goes well in his performance. True, he won victories by this method at the start of his career and against the opposition of the lowest level, but the fact remains that the Greek’s stall is good, if you do not look at low-effective takedowns.

Weaknesses

The trouble Mikhailidis faces in every fight is holes, big holes in defense. He misses exactly the same number of punches as he throws himself, which is why absolutely all the defeats of Spartan are early, and these are knockouts.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

Andreas will soon turn 34 years old, and his career, after signing with the UFC, began to decline - 2 losses in three extreme performances, both ahead of schedule, and even from not the strongest opponents. Alex Pereira and Modestas Bukauskas are strong guys, but they have nothing to do with the tops even approximately. But KB Bullar and Arimarsel Santos were too tough for him. Mikhailidis has been showing roughly the same form over the past couple of years, so no breakthroughs should be expected from him, besides, he himself has been idle since November 2021.

Comparative analysis

Let's start with the fact that with identical height, Mikhailidis is a little ahead in terms of arm span, as well as weight, since he previously had experience playing in the light heavyweight category. And if there is nothing to cling to here, since none of the participants in the battle has global superiority, then technically everyone has their own trump cards. The same Andreas will definitely take the palm in the stance, since his punches are noticeably more accurate, they are sharp and are used in the form of combinations, complemented by kicks. In the case of Rinat, he has nothing special to offer his opponent in the standing position, except perhaps pressure, which will stifle the explosive attacks of the Greek.

On the ground, in pure wrestling, Fakhretdinov looks more technical, because he knows how to work not only in a dominant position, but also perfectly knits opponents from below. And "Spartan" showed good results in the ground only as an attacking link. In addition, Rinat actively uses punches from above, so Andreas will have a very hard time in close combat with him. The picture of the battle itself looks rather banal: Fakhretdinov will go forward, will do everything to tie up the opponent, after pulling him to the ground floor. In parallel with this, "Gladiator" will begin to throw out his sweeping splashes, because of which Mikhailidis will have to work out as the second number. Pressing and controlling on the ground is the perfect setup for a debutant.

Rinat Fakhretdinov vs Andreas Mikhailidis Fight Prediction

Taking into account all the pros and cons, we can conclude that Rinat in this pair looks like a more balanced athlete. Yes, he did not perform for a long period of time, but in fact, Andreas has nothing to offer other than a stand-up fight, where he constantly misses blows. Fakhretdinov has never lost ahead of schedule, there is no doubt about his stamina, but whether the Greek will pull a direct collision with such an prospect is a big question. With a slight advantage, it would be wise to choose Rinat as a victor in the upcoming fight. And whether it will be an early victory or a competitive three-round duel will depend on his mental attitude and readiness to immediately go forward. Download 1xbet to your phone and place a bet on the favorite!

Prediction: Rinat Fakhretdinov to win