It’s almost Fight Day for UFC Baku and we have a loaded card on the way from Azerbaijan that has an early start time here in the US with prelims kicking off at 9AM ET.

The lineup features 13 bouts and will be headlined by a lightweight duel between Rafael Fiziev and Manuel Torres.

All 26 fighters set to compete successfully made weight for the event.

UFC Baku Picks & Predictions

My favorite picks for UFC Baku are Shara Magomedov, Daniil Donchenko, Nazim Sadykhov and Ikram Aliskerov.

My favorite potential betting upset is Charles Johnson after the Michal Olekseijczuk and Manuel Torres lines flipped.

Magomedov is getting a solid spot to shine in the co-main event against Michel Pereira and love his chances to keep on rolling here.

Shara should be the more durable fighter in the striking exchanges with better cardio to get this one done with a late KO/TKO win or decision.

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Donchenko is getting a debuting opponent on short notice and should be able to take advantage of the switch to pick up a stoppage win and keep his UFC momentum growing.

Sadykhov should be the better all-around fighter here against Matheus Camilo and be able to mix in some takedowns and control if needed to get to this one done.

Aliskerov has looked good so far in his UFC run other than the Whittaker fight and I love this spot for him to stay rolling with a stoppage win over Ferreira.

UFC Baku Betting Card

For the UFC Baku betting card, mostly running some small parlays and one prop bet.

The parlays are Aliskerov ML + Sadykhov ML + Magomedov by KO/TKO (+330 for .5 units), Sadykhov ML + Magomedov -3.5 Point Spread + U3.5 Alt Rounds Fiziev/Torres (+200 for .5 units), Oleksiejczuk ML + Aliskerov ML + Sadykhov ML (+268 for .5 units) and Donchenko by KO/TKO + Ruziboev ML + Magomedov ML (+199 for .5 units).

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The UFC Baku prop bet is Ruziboev by Submission (+1000 for .25 units).

Decided to mix and match among the main card spots for the parlays with nothing too extravagant on any of them.

For the Ruziboev submission play, Pulyaev has already shown he’s durable on the feet, so the easiest path to win will likely be on the ground, where he has 20 submission wins in his career.

That’s a total of five bets for 2.25 units on the UFC Baku betting card.

OddSmokerMMA Merch Updates

If you missed the Adrian Yanez signing last weekend, you can still grab a handful of signed items from the event including gloves and cards that are available to purchase on the JuanMorePack Whatnot store.

For new users on Whatnot, use our OddSmokerMMA sign-up link and get $15 to use toward your purchases, meaning you can get a signed Yanez card for only a dollar or two in taxes that are left over after the discount.

We also launched the new OddSmokerMMA merch shop for some of our custom shirts over there to make ordering easier, so be sure to check that out and keep an eye out for new designs dropping soon.

We’ll also be firing up some giveaways in the coming weeks and will have some cool stuff available with those, so watch our social accounts and check back here for more details on those.

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UFC Baku Notes & Wrap-Up

Overall, I’m expecting UFC Baku to be a really entertaining card with a ton of potential for some highlight finishes.

With UFC Baku starting early, PFL San Diego will be starting around the time the event ends, setting up a perfect day for an MMA doubleheader.

This event will round things out for the first half of 2026, and we have an off weekend on July 4th before kicking off the back half of the year with Conor McGregor’s looming return at UFC 329 on July 11th.

As always, best of luck on the bets and hope everyone enjoys watching the fights!

UFC Baku Quick Picks

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