It will be interesting to see what Hayisaer can put together. The
Chinese prospect was essentially a question mark heading into his
2021 Dana White’s Contender Series fight against Achilles
Estremadura but looked good in a clear decision win. Hayisaer
is still obviously raw and has some work to do defensively, but he
had enough size, athleticism and power to hold together a
disjointed game for 15 effective minutes. His proper UFC debut in
June also showed just how dangerous the 23-year-old can be, as he
faceplanted Steve
Garcia in just 74 seconds with a sharp counter. He looks to
follow up that performance with a win over another Garcia—no
relation. Mexico’s Garcia was a successful regional fighter who
looked set to slide out of the UFC after a rough start with the
promotion, but he has looked solid in his last three fights. He
managed to find a path to his wrestling in wins over Natan Levy
and Jesse
Ronson, and what looked like a rough matchup on paper against
Drakkar
Klose turned into a solid showing in a loss. Garcia does not
have the package of skills that signals a huge move up the ladder,
but he should be a perennially tough out and a rough test for
Hayisaer here. Garcia fights with enough pressure that he could
just walk into a Hayisaer knockout blow, but he has been
historically durable and could control some large swaths of this
fight with his wrestling. It is far from a lock, but this looks
like a bit too much too soon for a talented prospect. The pick is
Garcia via decision.
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