5 underdogs who can surprise the world at UFC 264
UFC 264 is rapidly approaching and the huge PPV event contains some of the most anticipated matchups of the year. With a colossal trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier headlining the card, this is the perfect opportunity for fighters on the undercard to make a name for themselves.
Multiple fighters are being written off by the oddsmakers due to their lack of experience or recent runs of poor form. However, many of these underdogs truly have the potential to surprise everyone; such is the nature of MMA.
In the following list, we will detail five underdogs at UFC 264 who at the very least have the potential to shock the world.
#5 Omari Akhmedov - UFC middleweight
Russian middleweight Omari Akhmedov is set to face off against Brad Tavares in an early prelim fight, despite both men being ranked within the top 15. Akhmedov is currently a +135 underdog, according to UniBet. This is somewhat surprising considering Akhmedov has only one loss in his last eight fights.
He has picked up impressive wins over some of the top fighters in the UFC's 185lb division, including Ian Heinisch, Tom Breese and Tim Boetsch. Comparatively, Tavares has only one win in his last three fights. Admittedly, Tavares' losses came against two very high-level opponents in Israel Adesanya and Edmen Shahbazyan.
However, Akhmedov's wrestling prowess is some of the best in the division and should he get the fight to the mat, Tavares will be in legitimate trouble. 'The Wolverine' is equally capable of locking up a submission as he is at grinding out a three-round decision victory.