Not much was expected of Culibao upon hitting the UFC, mostly
thanks to his subpar athleticism, but he has consistently impressed
during his four-fight run in the promotion. Typically a range
striker but also comfortable in a scrap, Culibao was overmatched in
a late-notice debut up at lightweight against Jalin
Turner, but he has found success since with some smart planning
against better athletes, earning a draw off Charles
Jourdain before racking up wins over Shayilan Nuerdanbieke and
Seung Woo
Choi. “Kuya” does figure to hit a ceiling at some point against
145-pound opposition, but there is a decent shot that Culibao can
string together enough wins to get some higher-profile fights and
make a name for himself in a deep division. A win here against
Baghdasaryan would be a huge proof of concept. Baghdasaryan comes
from the other side of the spectrum as an electric athlete looking
to round things out. “The Gun” got to Dana White’s Contender Series
in 2020 with a string of knockouts over about the weakest
competition available, and his eventual win was a mixed bag.
Baghdasaryan absolutely exhausted himself once he was unable to
find another quick finish but fought hard enough to take an ugly
decision over another solid prospect in Dennis
Buzukja. On the plus side, the Armenian seems to be learning
from the experience. He looked better in a knockout win over
Collin
Anglin in his UFC debut and paced himself to put together three
solid rounds for a decision victory against Bruno
Souza. It has been over a year since the Souza fight, so it
will be interesting to see what new wrinkles Baghdasaryan brings to
the table in what should be a winnable matchup. Like Souza, Culibao
should be crafty enough to frustrate Baghdasaryan at times, but he
does not have a particularly obvious way to take over this fight.
Culibao could outpace Baghdasaryan on sheer volume, but that looks
to be a tough needle to thread. Baghdasaryan might just be able to
win rounds with one or two brutal shots that could also knock out
the Aussie, and Culibao does not bring enough wrestling to the
table to bank control time and keep the Armenian on his toes. It is
a good test for both men. The pick is Baghdasaryan via
decision.
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