Aliskerov vs Trocoli Prediction: Ikram’s Easiest Fight in the UFC?
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Vladislav Tchakarov
UFC Vegas 93 went through a series of last-minute changes in the line-up. An inactive debutant in the co-main event? A truly unusual replacement that actually makes it easier for betting. Here is our Aliskerov vs Trocoli prediction.
Aliskerov vs Trocoli Prediction: One Fighter Has a Huge Advantage
Ikram was supposed to face Andre Muniz in the co-main event this week but he suffered a foot injury. Apparently, there weren't many options for a replacement and matchmakers finally gave Antonio Trocoli a chance to fight in the promotion. The Brazilian was one step away from the Octagon twice in recent years, with both of his scheduled fights getting canceled. Nevertheless, he will get his chance right before the main event on Saturday.
Ikram Aliskerov Preview
Ikram is a 31-year-old fighter from Dagestan and enters this contest with a 15-1-0 pro record. Aliskerov spent most of his early career in Brave CF, where he also suffered his only defeat – to Khamzat Chimaev.
He earned a contract after an impressive performance at Dana White's Contender Series 54 in 2022 when he caught Mario Souza with a kimura in the opening round.
Since then, he won both of his fights in the UFC. He knocked out Phil Hawes with a right cross in his debut and dealt with Warlley Alves in two minutes in his last fight, knocking him out with an incredible combination of a flying knee and punches.
As a student of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Ikram has a background in combat sambo, in which he is a former world champion. He is an unbelievable wrestler and has excellent control on the ground.
While he is capable of a wide variety of submissions, Ikram is also dangerous in the standing position due to his knockout power. He has 6 wins by knockout and 5 by submission in 15 wins.
Aliskerov is a rising star and matchmakers gave him an easy fight here. But before we make our final Aliskerov vs Trocoli prediction, we have to analyze the performances of the Brazilian as well.
Antonio Trocoli Preview
Antonio has been fighting professionally since 2013, jumping from promotion to promotion. He was on a streak of 9 victories until he ended up in the Legacy promotion, where he lost three times in a row.
Trocoli tried his luck at Dana White's Contender Series in 2019 when he faced Kenneth Bergh. While he won the contest, he later failed a doping test and the fight was declared invalid. Since that fight, Trocoli fought only once in 2021. This means that he has had a single appearance in MMA in close to five years.
As mentioned at the start, the Brazilian was targeted as a replacement on multiple occasions in recent years but never made it to the Octagon.
Like his opponent, Trocoli is incredibly dangerous on the ground, as his base is BJJ. The problem is that he has never faced a top-level opponent before and we doubt that he can outmaneuver Aliskerov.
Our Ikram Aliskerov vs Antonio Trocoli Prediction: Blink and You'll Miss It
Aliskerov has to win this bout in the first round. He finished his last three opponents in less than three minutes each and each of them was a more challenging fighter than Trocoli.
Ikram's advantage extends to every aspect of the sport. While Antonio has considerable skills on the ground, Ikram should still have a better chance of a finish. At the same time, Aliskerov is superior in striking and we generally expect him to try and keep the fight in a standing position. Last but not least, Trocoli used to fight at light-heavyweight, so he will be cutting down to middleweight for this bout.
Final Aliskerov vs Trocoli prediction: Ikram Aliskerov by KO/TKO/Submission
Vlad is a former amateur MMA fighter. After a series of injuries, he found a different way to connect with the sport and its fanbase - through writing. He's been covering everything-UFC for over 5 years on various platforms and has been part of the team at NYFights since early 2022.
