Prediction for the fight Nariman Abbasov vs Marif Piraev

The rivalry between pop MMA and professional mixed martial arts is gaining momentum, and this despite the fact that these areas are related. At one time, Marif Piraev conquered the heights of the mixfight, but later decided to move into the pop segment, where he gained unprecedented popularity. However, he was always drawn to big goals, so his return to the pros was not delayed.

Piranha chose a worthy opponent - AMC Fight Nights lightweight champion Nariman Abbasov. He is doing everything possible to get into the UFC, but for now he will have to resolve the conflict with one of the main characters of YouTube promotions. At Fight Nights 112, athletes will meet in the cage to find the best lightweight in the entire post-Soviet space. And which of them has more chances for victory - let's figure it out in our detailed forecast.

• Nariman Abbasov vs Marif Piraev;
• Nariman Abbasov;
• Marif Piraev;
• Comparative analysis;
• Game Totals Prediction.

Nariman Abbasov vs Marif Piraev

Nariman Abbasov

Everyone knows this Azerbaijani fighter as the AMC Fight Nights lightweight champion. However, in addition to this regalia, he has others: the title of world champion in MMA (WMMF), the winner of the Azerbaijan Cup in mixed fight and the champion of Eurasia. He has a number of victories in major international and local tournaments, as well as 30 professional fights in various MMA promotions.

Abbasov rode through many eminent domestic athletes, from Alexander Butenko to Kuat Khamitov and Shamil Zavurov. Nariman has long forgotten what defeat is, and now he is one of the best lightweights among those who compete in the CIS countries. At the same time, he still has something to prove overseas.

Strengths

Abbasov's style is tied to crushing and crushing the enemy with pressure. Setting high speeds from the very first seconds, he rushes forward with sweeping series, uses tricks, showing passes to the legs, and then discharges again to the head. Under such pressure, not everyone has time to implement their game plan.

Nariman is a generalist, therefore, arranging thrashings in the standing position, he may well go on the offensive in the stalls. Explosive, sharp and very powerful takedowns knock down opponents, and then they are waiting for a whole range of attacks in all directions, and especially a tight ground and pound.

To go the full distance, both in 3 and 5 rounds, is not a problem for the champion. If he fails to make his counterpart surrender in a short time, then exhaustion and complete dominance are used. Moreover, it does not matter where exactly the fight will take place, Abbasov is really competitive in all positions.

Weaknesses

Finding fault with Nariman in terms of weaknesses is not easy. However, in the fight with Magomedsaid Alibekov, he showed his main shortcomings. Getting under hard pressure, getting involved in skirmishes at close range and finding himself on his back, Abbasov does not allow himself to finish, but at the same time he is ready to perform only defensive actions. A lot of time has passed since then, and Alibekov was a very good wrestler, however, who knows how the champion will behave now in such a situation.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

Nariman is 28 years old and his last performance dates back to September 2021. A winning streak of 12 fights indicates that this athlete is not just at the peak of his form, but knows no equal, winning every meeting by a serious margin. The same Zavurov, Amirov and Gogitidze, he prematurely, while losing the duel ahead of schedule only once in his career. Given the conflict between the participants in the title confrontation, there is no doubt that Abbasov will enter the cage especially charged.

Marif Piraev

A fighter from Dagestan has an impressive track record in martial arts for his age. He won the title of world champion in universal combat and sambo, champion of Europe and Russia in the same disciplines, as well as the title of champion of Moscow and prize-winner of the Russian championship in boxing. In addition to this, Marif has three belts from different MMA leagues: PGC, GM and Fight Nights Global.

In addition, Piraev was able to prove himself in fisticuffs, where he dealt with the most dangerous opponents. Even with a busy schedule in pop-MMA, he managed to fly into professional tournaments, constantly fighting high-class opposition. Remarkably, over the past few years, "Piranha" has not competed in the 70 kg, so this is a special challenge for him.

Strengths

Stance is one of Marif's strengths, as he struck the perfect balance between offensive and defensive action. Neat style, good jab and uppercut work, and explosive attacks (which are always preceded by careful preparation), allow him to arrange beautiful fights, coming out of them with minimal damage.

Piraev got the lion's share of early victories through submissions. This is not about banal suffocating, but about a whole kaleidoscope of techniques for all limbs and joints. The picture is complemented by a high-quality ground and pound, with the use of elbows, as well as a viscous clinch, where it does not give the counterpart space for any operational actions.

Weaknesses

Repeatedly, this athlete was faced with the fact that he could not finish his opponents, get success on the ground and impose his pace in the rack. That is, with athletes of equal level, he begins to relentlessly dry up the fight, doing everything to reduce the number of dangerous actions on their part.

The main topic of the press conference dedicated to this fight was talk about Marif's weight. In recent years, he performed in 77 kg, and in pop MMA, he tried his hand even in 80 kg, gaining even more in the offseason. Now, he needs to drive up to 70, and this is a crazy load on the body, and who knows in what general state the Dagestani will enter the cage.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

Marif is 29 years old, and if we take his professional career, he had an extreme duel in September last year, defeating Kuat Khamitov. In the pop segment, the athlete goes on a series of victories over Mohammad Heybati, Yevgeny Kurdanov and Aray Chobanyan. Pirayev is in peak condition, his training camp was very intense, and now absolutely everything will depend on how professionally he approaches the issue of weight racing - he is completely in order with the rest.

Comparative analysis

Since Marif descends to light weight, it is not at all surprising that he surpasses his opponent in size: towering only 3 cm above him, Piranha has a 6 cm larger arm span, and will certainly gain under 75-78 kg by the time he enters the the battle. In terms of style, the fighters are similar in a number of parameters: both know how and love to fight, inflict a lot of blows in the horizontal plane, and also have heavy splashes.

However, the champion is more assertive, prefers to trade in the standing position and his hits will definitely be more palpable. Piraev, on the other hand, tends to fight not so openly, more often thinking about defense, but in a horizontal position, one can expect not only control and strikes from his side, but also submissions. Even if Abbasov uses his standard push-and-punch scheme, he could be met with an endless stream of clinches followed by a transfer. For this reason, both will spend some time in the rack, fortunately, both hooks and uppercuts fly as they should.

And taking into account the fact that this is a title fight, everyone will have to approach the distribution of forces for all rounds as seriously as possible. Simply put, an equal battle on the hands, where Nariman can take individual episodes, when the viscous Marif allows it, will turn into real action on the ground, and anything can happen here: from a deposit from Piraev to a bombardment from Abbasov. We connect here the endurance of the title holder and the challenger's difficult weight race, and we get one thing - a protracted fight is more interesting and beneficial for Nariman.

Nariman Abbasov vs Marif Piraev Fight Prediction

When it comes to the battle of such professionals as Piraev and Abbasov, it is not easy to predict which of them will make a mistake and give the opponent all the cards in hand to develop success. In fact, the Azerbaijani is tougher and more assertive, but Marif's number two game also takes place. For this reason, it is not worth counting on a quick denouement of the meeting, and I am sure that it will pass through the equator, where the main role will be played by the condition and psychological attitude. Will Piranha crush the champion on the ground floor? It would be foolish to rely solely on this. Therefore, in addition to the recommended bet on Abbasov's victory, you can use such an option as total rounds. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Prediction: Nariman Abbasov to win/Total over 2.5