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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Matt Erickson and Ken Hathaway

Bekzat Almakhan relishing chance to upset, derail Umar Nurmagomedov in UFC debut

Bekzat Almakhan Umar Nurmagomedov UFC UFC Fight Night 238

LAS VEGAS – The odds are stacked against him Saturday, and there’s no polite way to put it: Bekzat Almakhan is a massive underdog.

Almakhan (17-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will be the latest bantamweight to try to give the unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov (16-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) a test when they meet on the UFC Fight Night 238 (ESPN+) main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Although the 26-year-old Almakhan, from Kazakhstan, comes in with an impressive nine-fight winning streak and has 15 of his 17 wins by stoppage, Nurmagomedov is as much as a 16-1 favorite at the betting window. It probably didn’t help Almakhan’s cause when the oddsmakers set the initial line that he was taking a fight against a member of one of the sport’s elite families on less than a month’s notice, either.

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