Prediction for the fight Damir Ismagulov vs Guram Kutateladze

The UFC is back in Texas for another explosive event. The UFC on ESPN 37 card will feature an important fight for fans from the CIS, with the participation of Damir Ismagulov, who has fallen in love with the public, and the Swedish-Georgian puncher, Guram Kutateladze. For the latter, this will be only the second fight under the banner of the major league, but he is ready to declare himself a victory over a famous opponent.

Both fighters prefer to fight in a standing position, and this promises the audience an interesting kill of high-class strikers. Whose skills will turn out to be better: an experienced Damir, or a charged Guram, ready to do everything to get into the ratings? It's time to look into this issue, identifying the athlete who is likely to be the winner this evening.

• Damir Ismagulov vs Guram Kutateladze;
• Damir Ismagulov;
• Guram Kutateladze;
• Comparative analysis;
• Game Totals Prediction.

Damir Ismagulov vs Guram Kutateladze

Damir Ismagulov

Starting from his student years, Damir actively competed in hand-to-hand and universal combat, where he confirmed the title of master of sports. Also, behind him is a victory at the Russian Cup in MMA, where he also became an MC. Turning to professionals, the Kazakh seized the M-1 title in the category up to 70 kg, after which he defended it twice.

Over the long years spent in Russia, Ismagulov fought off a number of eminent opponents, the level of Max Divnich, Artem Damkovsky and others. Thanks to this, he received a contract with the UFC, and now he is more than confidently moving to the top, and a couple more victories will allow him to reach opponents of a completely different level of training.

Strengths

Damir prefers to work in the stand, and in his case, we can safely talk about one of the most thinking and prudent fighters. Possessing knockout power, Ismagulov never relies on quick finishes, acting consistently and breaking the opponent from round to round, putting pressure on his weak points. An excellent sense of distance, stamina, cardio and the highest level of training often make this athlete inaccessible to rivals - he really misses a little.

Weaknesses

It cannot be said that Damir has serious gaps in some of the aspects, but duels with people from freestyle wrestling periodically caused him trouble. Constant pressure from them and the threat of transfers fetter the native of Kazakhstan, and his technical arsenal is sharply reduced. However, even here he demonstrates composure, due to which he wins fights.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

Damir is 31 years old, and since May last year he has not appeared in the UFC octagon. In this organization, the score of the fighter is 4-0, which consists of such names: Rafael Alves, Thiago Moises, Yoel Alvarez and Alex Gorgis. Ismagulov won all fights by unanimous decisions, demonstrating a noticeable increase in skills. That is why there is no doubt about his readiness, even taking into account the downtime - he is ready to get a victory that will take him to the next level.

Guram Kutateladze

The fighter, nicknamed "Georgian Viking", made his career in kickboxing before moving on to MMA. There he had about 100 fights, won a number of regional trophies, and most importantly, he gained experience as a striker, and now he successfully uses it in the cage. Having fought back in local leagues like Brave FC, Kutateladze got the opportunity to play in the UFC.

By the way, Khamzat Chimaev, who trains with him in the same club, paved the way for him there. So far, Guram's opposition raises more questions about his level, because he gives out finishes often, but in fights with guys who are known only in the home arena. However, the debut in the UFC allows a broader look at the capabilities of the Georgian.

Strengths

Kutateladze's style is almost completely based on percussion technique, and here he is really good. A mixture of hand combinations, elbows, knees and kicks, and everything else - sports aggression, repeatedly allowed this athlete to knock out the opposition in the first round. Although, he also has one victory by submission, so Guram's parterre should not be underestimated either.

Weaknesses

As mentioned above, the main question remains the real level of this guy. Like any striker, he cannot be as good on the ground as he is in the standing position, and in fights with the "middle peasants", he was not able to win as easily as with passing opponents. To all these doubts, a simple one is added, so Kutateladze will have to do more than usual in order to survive in the coming fight.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

Guram is 30 years old and we haven't seen him in the cage since October 2020 when he fought Mateusz Gamrot in his debut. That fight was recognized as the best fight of the evening, and he became the 9th in the winning streak of the Georgian-Swedish athlete. Nevertheless, victories over Filipe Silva, Guilherme Martins and other counterparts do not make it possible to say that Kutateladze is ready for a sharp jump in the level of opposition. At the same time, a strong team has gathered around him, which will definitely take into account all the subtleties that require special attention.

Comparative analysis

Let's start with anthropometry, which will play a significant role in this fight, since its participants will definitely arrange exchanges in the stance, Guram is a couple of centimeters higher than Damir, but at the same time, the arm span indicators will no longer be behind him. Athletes are dry, they do not stand out with an impressive muscle mass, therefore, in the clinch and on the ground, if it comes to the ground at all, no one will have superiority solely due to this. However, Kutateladze can offer vis-a-vis his elbows and knees, with which he successfully discharges in all tiers in close combat. Otherwise, the work on the legs goes to Ismagulov's piggy bank, since he acts much more intelligently, correctly distributes his forces over the rounds and will be able to play the first half of the fight as the second number.

In any case, Guram will look for an opportunity to finish, go ahead and throw heavy punches, but no one has knocked Damir out yet, because catching him with a good punch is not an easy task. Footwork and distance control is what the Kazakh fighter will be able to neutralize the knockout power of his counterpart. On the zero floor, it is not easy to single out a favorite, since neither one nor the other showed themselves there sufficiently. And yet, Damir has been performing in MMA for a longer time, therefore I consider him a stronger link in the stalls. The issue of downtime and a jump in the level of opposition is much more acute here, since Guram has been out of work for more than a year and a half, and before that he had not had a chance to fight with guys like Ismagulov. A prolonged vacation can become a real problem, which he will have to solve alone.

Damir Ismagulov vs Guram Kutateladze Fight Prediction

Spectators are waiting for a three-round confrontation, which, most likely, will end with a decision. And, looking back at the past of the participants in this fight, it is Damir who is the likely winner here. Of course, such a puncher as Guram has a chance to finish with one hit, but over the past 8 years no one has been able to finish Ismagulov either in the standing or in the horizontal position. It is likely that in the first round Kutateladze will create problems for his opponent, but then, Damir's adaptive style will definitely play a key role during the meeting. He is more experienced, always analyzes what is happening and knows exactly how to work with aggressors like Guram. That is why we should expect another class performance from him, with a convincing victory on points. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Prediction: Damir Ismagulov to win