Preview: Bellator 269

Middleweights

Anatoly Tokov (29-2, 5-0 Bellator) vs. Sharaf Davlatmurodov (18-3-1, 0-0 Bellator)
Odds: Tokov (-450), Davlatmurodov (+350)

Tokov will return to the Bellator cage for the first time since October 2019. Prior to his hiatus, the FedorTeam representative was working his way toward contention at middleweight with a five-fight winning streak that included victories over UFC veteran Gerald Harris and former Bellator 185-pound king Alexander Shlemenko. Tokov owns a gaudy record and his only losses have come against solid competition in current UFC talent Ramazan Emeev and former Professional Fighters League champion Magomed Magomedkerimov.

Like many of his FedorTeam counterparts, Tokov has a background in combat sambo, but he also has plenty of knockout power — especially in his right hand. When the standup isn’t to his liking, Tokov will look to be a bully in the clinch, and he can be relentless in remaining attached to his opponents. In close quarters, the 31-year-old Russian utilizes effective dirty boxing and knees, and he will attempt to secure dominant positions on the canvas to set up his dangerous ground-and-pound.

Davlatmurodov enters his promotional debut on a six-fight winning streak, and he has faced decent competition on the regional circuit, earning triumphs against the likes of Brett Cooper, Amilcar Alves, Ben Alloway and Joilton Lutterbach, to name a few. The Strela Team product prefers to kickbox on the outside, mixing up his strikes with a volume-based attack while utilizing unusual movement. He’ll land takedowns when he can get in on his opponent’s hips, but his defensive wrestling is a concern, particularly against a foe as powerful as Tokov. Davlatmurodov can be overly aggressive in his pursuit of submissions on the canvas, which leaves him vulnerable if he gets too careless.

Tokov will look for openings to land his right hand before closing the distance and making this fight ugly by forcing Davlatmurodov to defend against clinches and takedowns. If Tokov gets his fellow Russian down, he can impose his will through ground-and-pound and positional control.

The Pick: Tokov by decision or late TKO.