Ikram Aliskerov is UFC Vegas 93's fighter to watch

The UFC returns home to the UFC APEX for a fight night card from Las Vegas. The event marks the 93rd Fight Night event within the APEX and for some, that's too many. But I digress.

The card is headlined by a flyweight scrap between Alex Perez and Tatsuro Taira but the co-main event is what I think fans should be focused on. The 185-pound fight features Russia's Ikram Aliskerov and Brazil's Antonio Trócoli, two men who have high hopes of stardom in their future.

Aliskerov has some impressive stats to back himself up, including three first-round finishes in his last three appearances. He was introduced to UFC fans via the Contender Series where he defeated Mário Sousa VIA A kimura in just over two minutes. In his UFC debut, he fought Phil Hawes and dropped him with a right cross in nearly the exact same amount of time. That's where things slowed down for him though. He was slated to fight Paulo Costa in July 2023 but the fight fell through. Then he was booked to fight Nassourdine Imavov and that fight fell through. He finally got back into the Octagon versus Warlley Alves and again, finished him in just over two minutes.

He hasn't fought since October 2023, though he was booked in February to fight Anthony Hernandez, but he backed out of that fight. Trócoli will be standing across the cage from him on Saturday in place of Andre Muniz who was his original opponent.

Ikram Aliskerov will fight Antonio Trócoli at UFC Vegas 93

Trócoli is no slouch. Trócoli won his Contender Series fight in 2019 via a submission but the result was overturned when he failed a drug test. He secured a first-round rear-naked choke on teh regional scene and then he was in the UFC. His debut was booked versus Ovince St. Preux and then Oumar Sy but neither of those bouts came to fruition. and he's been sitting on the sidelines ever since.

I expect Trócoli to come out with guns blazing after being out since 2021 but the poise and experience of Aliskerov will be too much for the ring-rust-weary newcomer. Expect a finish in the first round.