We’re one day away from the UFC returning to its Fight Island home on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE, for another weekend Fight Night. It’s the first of what is expected to be two occasions this year where the Octagon lands in Abu Dhabi, with the annual late October numbered card in Abu Dhabi expected.

The main event will see former light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev taking on Bogdan Guskov.

This will be Ankalaev’s first fight since dropping the title to Alex Pereira last year at UFC 320. Before that, Ankalaev went on a 14-fight unbeaten streak, culminating with his UFC 313 title win over Pereira.

Guskov takes this fight on short notice, only being announced for this bout on July 13 after an injury to Khalil Rountree Jr. Guskov dropped his UFC debut but then won four straight. He most recently fought at UFC 323, battling former champion Jan Blachowicz to a majority draw.

The co-main event will see former flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg battle Ramazan Temirov. After losing three straight, Erceg enters this bout with back-to-back wins, defeating Ode’ Osbourne last year and Tim Elliott this past May in Perth. Temirov, meanwhile, has won 11 straight, including his first two UFC bouts, finishing CJ Vergara and earning a decision over Charles Johnson.

The rest of the main card will see Islam Dulatov vs. Wellington Turman, Damian Rzepecki vs. Magomed Zaynukov, Rizvan Kuniev vs. Tyrell Fortune, and Abubakar Vagaev vs. Saygid Izagakhmaev.

ISLAM DULATOV VS WELLINGTON TURMAN

Unbeaten since dropping his pro debut, Islam Dulatov is a name the UFC has had its eye on. He’s 11-1, had a strong first-round finish on Dana White’s Contender Series, and quickly finished Adam Fugitt in his UFC debut last year. At 6’3” and with a 75-inch reach, Dulatov is a fairly big man for the welterweight division. Add in his high-volume striking and pressure, and his ability to finish by either KO/TKO or submission, and you can see the danger he presents.

Wellington Turman is an experienced veteran of the Octagon, and he’ll look to trouble Dulatov with his jiu-jitsu work. This will be Turman’s first fight since December 2023, however, and he enters this fight on a three-fight losing skid. Signs point to this being another Dulatov showcase.

BET: Dulatov to win via KO/TKO in Round 1 (FanDuel: -110)

VALTER WALKER VS THOMAS PETERSEN

How Valter Walker is not on the main card of this event is downright criminal. He might be fighting an unranked fighter and the heavyweight division might be lackluster, but he’s probably this writer’s favorite thing about the division right now. The man gets submissions like crazy, and he’s developing into one of the most talented heavyweights in a UFC division that desperately needs talent.

Petersen has talent, but he’s been up and down since entering the UFC – and I prefer the competition Walker has faced. Point blank, a loss for Walker here would be devastating for not just Walker, but the division as a whole. The challenge for making a play here is that Petersen has a wrestling base and has never been submitted…and yet, the way Walker’s momentum has been, that might not matter.

BET: Walker via submission (DraftKings: +165)

DUSTIN JACOBY VS MUHAMMAD SAID

Dustin Jacoby might not reach the upper echelon of the UFC light heavyweight rankings, but he’s tough competition for anyone who is put in front of him. The power in his strikes, which stem from his kickboxing days, translated well into the Octagon. Not only are his losses not bad, but he’s riding a three-fight KO/TKO streak entering this bout.

Said is going to have a hometown factor in this one, and he’s a strong striker and finisher in his own right. The question about him is the level of competition. Jacoby is the most experienced guy he’s going to have fought – in his first six fights, he fought fighters who had no more than four fights. He’s faced experienced fighters in his last three, but they didn’t have the greatest of records.

Some have felt this will be a difficult fight to predict, but I’ll trust in both fighters’ finishing abilities.

BET: Fight to end via KO/TKO/DQ (Caesars: -125)

Minnesota United will try to snap a five-match winless drought when they host a Vancouver Whitecaps side wrapping up a stretch of seven consecutive away matches on Saturday in Saint Paul, Minn.

Minnesota (6-6-4, 22 points) was winless in four matches going into the World Cup break, then returned to play on the wrong side of a 2-1 defeat at Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday evening.

The Loons have held the majority of possession and took the majority of shots in all five of those matches.

But they’ve struggled with the end product, particularly before halftime. Their only first-half goal during this slide was Kelvin Yeboah’s 26th-minute penalty in a 2-1 loss at New England back on May 16.

“When it’s not going your way, that’s when you have to have stability emotionally,” Minnesota manager Cameron Knowles said after Wednesday’s loss. “We’ve talked a lot with the guys about that and making sure that we’re collective and we’re together and trying to create and stay in the game.”

Yeboah still leads the team with eight goals, but he hasn’t scored a non-penalty tally since a brace in a 3-2 victory over Columbus on May 2.

Vancouver (10-3-2, 32 points) also lost in its return to play, a 4-3 defeat at FC Cincinnati on Wednesday night which dropped its record to 2-2-2 during this extended road trip.

But the Whitecaps saw the return of creative Scottish midfielder Ryan Gauld to the starting 11 for the first time in 501 days after extended knee injury struggles.

With regular captain Thomas Muller given the night off, Gauld scored a brace in his return to play while putting in a 63-minute shift.

The latter tally in the 58th minute closed Vancouver’s deficit to a single goal for a third time, but the Whitecaps were unable to find a late leveler.

“It was amazing to have him back, and it was great for everybody that he (was) on the scoring sheet,” Whitecaps manager Jesper Sorensen said. “We are all happy for him in that regard, and it’s definitely positive, but on the other hand, right now I just have so many thoughts about the game. I have to really evaluate it also in my head.”

–Field Level Media

Austin FC look to parlay one of their best performances of the season into a rare winning streak Saturday at the Houston Dynamo in the Copa Tejas clash between the Lone Star State rivals.

The Verde (4-7-5, 17 points) head south after a rousing 3-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday in their return from the two-month World Cup break. Austin FC snapped a four-match winless streak (0-3-1) and will be looking to capture back-to-back wins for just the second time this year.

Ilie Sanchez, Myrto Uzuni and Christian Ramirez found the net as Austin matched its season-high for goals. Eighteen-year-old Ervin Torres entered as a substitute in the 84th minute and assisted on the final two tallies.

Torres, the first player in Austin FC history to ascend from the team’s academy to its MLS Next Pro team and onto the top unit, provided a glimpse of the future for the Verde. His performance was as eye-opening for interim head coach Davy Arnaud as it was to the rest of the league.

“We’ve seen stuff like this from Ervin at training, so it wasn’t — I don’t want to say it wasn’t a surprise,” Arnaud said about Torres. “It always is when you see it for the first time (in a game). But he has that ability.”

Uzuni leads the Verde in goals (six) and goal contributions (11) in 14 games.

Austin remains the only MLS team without a road victory and has dropped three of its last four visits to Shell Energy Stadium.

The Dynamo (7-6-2, 23 points) were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with D.C. United on Wednesday in their return from break. Hector Herrera had Houston’s goal in the 40th minute as the Dynamo extended their home unbeaten streak to four (3-0-1).

“We played well enough to win the game, and we felt like we should have gotten the three points,” Houston head coach Ben Olsen said. “But that’s on us — you’ve got to go get that second goal, go score that third goal. We just have to be better — it’s up to us to put the game away.

“We have to shake it off because we have a quick one (Saturday) against a good Austin team.”

Guilherme paces the Dynamo with eight goals and five assists. Houston is 3-1-2 since a 2-0 loss at Austin on April 25.

The teams have split four of their past five matches, with each winning twice along with one draw.

–Field Level Media