Shara Magomedov and Antonio Trocoli meet Saturday on the main card of UFC on ABC 6 from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
Shara Magomedov vs. Antonio Trocoli UFC on ABC 6 preview
Magomedov (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) enters his second UFC bout with a lot of hype behind him. In his promotional debut at UFC 294 in October, “Bullet” picked up a unanimous decision win over Bruno Silva. The 30-year-old Russian is undefeated in his pro career. … Trocoli (12-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has had quite the winding road to the UFC, but finally makes his debut with the promotion. Originally scheduled to fight Ikram Aliskerov at last week’s UFC on ESPN 58 event, Trocoli was left without an opponent when Aliskerov was replaced Khamzat Chimaev in the main event to face Robert Whittaker. Then Trocoli also found himself stepping up on short notice for a fight a week later, filling in for Joilton Lutterbach to face Magomedov.
Shara Magomedov vs. Antonio Trocoli UFC on ABC 6 expert pick, prediction
Filling out the main card in Saudi Arabia is an impromptu middleweight matchup between Magomedov and Trocoli.
Despite MMA casuals and degenerate bettors growing increasingly tumescent over the “Shara Bullet” hype currently being served to us, I’m not buying it.
Take away the James Bond villain gimmick and the masses who fetishize any fighter who remotely looks like they could be Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin, and what you’re left with is a flashy kicker who has largely come through against unproven competition (minus a Bruno Silva who is past it, of course).
Say what you will about Trocoli’s travel and inconsistent schedule before this bout, but the man is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt with a serviceable takedown game – which is enough to convince me to go contrarian here.
I’ll take the wildly unpopular pick and side with Trocoli to win by submission in Round 2.
Shara Magomedov vs. Antonio Trocoli UFC on ABC 6 odds
The oddsmakers and the public are heavily favoring the Russian fighter, listing Magomedov as a large -590 favorite and Trocoli as a sizable underdog at +440, via FanDuel.
Shara Magomedov vs. Antonio Trocoli UFC on ABC 6 start time, how to watch
As the second bout on the main card, Magomedov and Trocoli are expected to make their walks to the octagon at approximately 3:40 p.m. ET. The fight broadcasts live on ABC and streams on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 6.
