UFC Qatar fight card picks & predictions for Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dan Hooker

The UFC heads to Doha, Qatar for the first time this Saturday (November 22), and MMA KO’s Drew Beaupré is here to provide predictions for all 14 fights on the card.

The main event for UFC Qatar is a pivotal lightweight bout between Dan Hooker and Arman Tsarukyan, who returns to the Octagon for the first time since he pulled out of a title fight rematch with Islam Makhachev on weigh-in day for UFC 311.

The night’s co-main event will also see Belal Muhammad return to action after losing his welterweight title to now-former champion Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315. “Remember the Name” faces Ian Machado Garry, who rebounded from his first career loss against Shavkat Rakhmonov by taking a unanimous decision over Carlos Prates in April.

UFC Qatar Main Card Predictions

Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dan Hooker

Arman Tsarukyan during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

I know a lot of fans are all-in on the idea of Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett, but I still think Tsarukyan is the most intriguing lightweight challenge available for Topuria at the moment. It’s a shame that we missed out on the rematch with Makhachev, but Tsarukyan has a chance to finally move past that when he takes on a major fan-favorite in Hooker.

(Pick: Tsarukyan)

Belal Muhammad vs. Ian Machado Garry

Ian Machado Garry (red gloves) fights Carlos Prates (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at T-Mobile Center. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

Both of these welterweights would need to put on a truly stellar performance to earn the next welterweight title shot after the knockouts that Carlos Prates and Michael Morales scored at UFC 322 last weekend. I don’t necessarily expect this matchup to produce such a result, but I do think Machado Garry will get his hand raised and jump right back into the title mix at 170 lbs.

(Pick: Machado Garry)

Volkan Oezdemir vs. Alonzo Menifield

Volkan Oezdemir (red gloves) fights Bogdan Guskov (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Accor Arena. | Per Haljestam-Imagn Images

I’ll be completely honest and admit that I completely forgot Menifield is coming off back-to-back wins, the most recent of which was a sizeable upset over Oumar Sy. That being said, neither of those victories were especially convincing, and at this stage of their respective careers I have to pick Oezdemir to get things done here.

(Pick: Oezdemir)

Jack Hermansson vs. Myktybek Orolbai

Jack Hermansson (red gloves) is checked on by medical staff after the fight against Gregory Rodrigues. — Jack Hermansson (red gloves) is checked on by medical staff after the fight against Gregory Rodrigues (blue gloves) during UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Moving down a weight class this late in his career does feel like a bit of a desperate move for Hermansson, although I was glad to see he hit the scales with seemingly no issues. The Swede has been handed a tough matchup in Qatar, but I’ll pick him to utilize a size advantage against Orolbai even if I don’t expect him to go very far at 170 lbs.

(Pick: Hermansson)

Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Shamil Gaziev

Martin Buday (red gloves) fights Shamil Gaziev (blue gloves) during UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Originally scheduled to take on Serghei Spivac, Gaziev now gets to meet the slightly higher-ranked Cortes-Acosta in an extremely short-notice matchup. “Salsa Boy” has proven to be a difficult matchup for a lot of UFC heavyweights, but I think Gaziev will be able to spoil the Dominican’s plan to close out the year with back-to-back wins.

(Pick: Gaziev)

Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Tagir Ulanbekov

Tagir Ulanbekov (red gloves) celebrates after defeating Clayton Carpenter (blue gloves) during UFC 311 at Intuit Dome. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

A return to the UFC has been a long time coming for Horiguchi, and he’s understandably been handed a difficult matchup against a fighter that’s currently on a four-fight win streak. As much as I’d like to see Horiguchi score his first UFC win since 2016, I don’t think it’s going to happen in Qatar.

(Pick: Ulanbekov)

UFC Qatar Preliminary Card Predictions

Luke Riley vs. Bogdan Grad

One of MMA’s most highly-touted prospects finally make his Octagon debut at UFC Qatar, and this matchup with Grad should provide a chance for Riley to showcase an all-action style that should immediately endear him to fans that haven’t had a chance to watch his fights in Cage Warriors.

(Pick: Riley)

Saygid Izagakhmaev vs. Nicolas Dalby

Nicolas Dalby (blue gloves) prepares to fight Randy Brown (not pictured) during UFC Fight Night at T-Mobile Center. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

I know that the 41-year-old Dalby has to slow down at some point, but this feels like the kind of fight where “Danish Dynamite” will pull off some sort of a stunning comeback even though he’s clearly outmatched on paper and may absorb some serious punishment from Izagakhmaev.

(Pick: Dalby)

Alex Perez vs. Asu Almabayev

Asu Almabayev (blue gloves) fights CJ Vergara (red gloves) during UFC 299 at Kayesa Center. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Perez could really use a big win here if he wants to remain a factor in the UFC’s flyweight division, but unfortunately I think he’ll be outmatched by Almabayev when he returns for the first time since suffering a knee injury against Tatsuro Taira last year.

(Pick: Almabayev)

Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev vs. Raffael Cerqueira

Cerqueira comes into UFC Qatar after an 0-3 start to his UFC career, and it looks likely that his Octagon run will end when he steps into the cage to meet Yakhyaev in the undefeated light heavyweight’s promotional debut.

(Pick: Yakhyaev)

Bekzat Almakhan vs. Aleksandre Topuria

Bekzat Almakhan (blue gloves) reacts after defeating Brad Katona (red gloves) during UFC 315 at Bell Centre. | Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Topuria faces a significant amount of pressure every time he enters the Octagon thanks to the success of his younger brother Ilia, and I’m going to slightly lean with Almakhan to get the better of “El Conquistador” in what should be one of the more entertaining fights at UFC Qatar.

(Pick: Almakhan)

Ryan Loder vs. Ismail Naurdiev

Ismael Naurdiev (blue gloves) defeats Michel Prazeres (red gloves) during UFC Fight Night at 02 Arena. | Per Haljestam-Imagn Images

Both fighters come into this matchup looking to rebound from losses, and I think Naurdiev should be able to stifle Loder’s wrestling in order to avoid falling to 1-2 in the UFC.

(Pick: Naurdiev)

Nurullo Aliev vs. Shem Rock

Rock and Luke Riley have both gotten some extra attention ahead of their UFC debuts given that they’re both teammates of Paddy Pimblett, but this bout with Aliev looks to be a considerably more difficult first matchup than what Riley faces against Bogdan Grad.

(Pick: Aliev)

Marek Bjlo vs. Denzel Freeman

Two new additions to the promotion’s heavyweight division will kick off UFC Qatar. Freeman has proven himself against a slightly-higher level of competition, and he should be able to open his UFC career with a win and hand Bujlo his first loss.

(Pick: Freeman)

MMA KO will be providing comprehensive coverage for UFC Qatar all throughout fight week, and be sure to check back on our homepage tomorrow for live results and highlights from the event.

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