Ludovit Klein vs. Tofiq Musayev Odds
| Klein Odds | -238 |
| Musayev Odds | +195 |
| Over/Under | 2.5 (-160/+124) |
| Location | Belgrade Arena, Belgrade, Serbia |
| Bout Time | 12:45 p.m. ET |
| TV/Streaming | Paramount+ |
| UFC Serbia odds as of Saturday and via DraftKings. Bet on UFC Serbia with our DraftKings promo code. | |
Check out the Ludovit Klein vs. Tofiq Musayev prediction for UFC Serbia on Saturday, August 1, along with my betting preview and breakdown.
Despite being buried on the prelims, Ludovit Klein vs. Tofiq Musayev might end up being the best fight on the entire card.
A proven product in the UFC, Klein has been on a tear since moving up to lightweight, losing only to ranked opponents like Mateusz Gamrot. Although Musayev is only 1-1 in the promotion, the native of Azerbaijan has accrued solid experience against former UFC and international talent alike on the regional scene. With Musayev's last win over Ignacio Bahamondes coming with an arguable asterisk in tow, due to Musayev's tactical and flagrant fouling, the 36-year-old will still have a lot to prove on this stage.
Tale of the Tape
| Klein | Musayev | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 24-5-1 | 23-6 |
| Avg. Fight Time | 12:46 | 9:48 |
| Height | 5'7" | 5'9" |
| Weight (pounds) | 155 lbs. | 155 lbs. |
| Reach (inches) | 72" | 69" |
| Stance | Southpaw | Orthodox |
| Date of birth | 2/22/1995 | 12/15/1989 |
| Sig Strikes Per Min | 3.76 | 1.84 |
| SS Accuracy | 53% | 46% |
| SS Absorbed Per Min | 3.48 | 1.74 |
| SS Defense | 53% | 50% |
| Take Down Avg | 1.37 | 2.30 |
| TD Acc | 51% | 60% |
| TD Def | 76% | 50% |
| Submission Avg | 0 | 0 |
From a style perspective, this is a battle between two skilled and powerful strikers.
Musayev, who hails from a Wushu Sanda background, employs a lot of the kickboxing stylings that are synonymous with his part of the world. From classic Sanda kick counters to his ability to finish combinations with kicks off his lead side, Musayev is as dexterous as he is powerful.
From a punching perspective, Musayev has steadily leaned heavier into his countering sensibilities as his career has progressed. That said, Musayev isn't afraid to change things up by shifting to southpaw and initiating with heavy rear kicks.
When it comes to wrestling, Musayev has always operated with a strong first-layer offense and defense. However, if forced to fight past those layers – particularly from negative positions – Musayev has traditionally struggled due to a lack of depth in the submission grappling department.
Klein may not be a game-over-level ground fighter, but the Slovak has made measurable strides in his wrestling and grappling since stepping onto the UFC scene. Like Musayev, Klein also does his best work from topside and is more than happy to ply his strength there should his opposition allow it.
Still, Klein, akin to his current counterpart, appears to do his best work when counter striking on the feet.
A boxing-based striker who can throw kicks like second nature, Klein carries all the weapons that a southpaw should never leave home without. From powerful rear kicks, to checking right hooks and counter crosses, Klein possesses the necessary tools to control the striking lanes that an open-stance pairing presents.
For this reason, I'll be curious to see how Musayev deals with his first high-level Southpaw this Saturday.
Klein vs. Musaeyv Pick, Prediction
The oddsmakers and the public favor the Slovakian, listing Klein -255 and Musayev +210 as of this writing.
Although the line movement on Klein initially had me looking Musayev's way, I came away agreeing with the public after watching the tape.
Tofiq Musayev, who faces Ludovit Klein at #UFCBelgrade, is officially 0-0 opposite UFC-level southpaws but did get dropped by a stance-switching Ignacio Bahamondes during the 1 of 2 times Bahamondes went lefty: pic.twitter.com/fNfnEzielx
— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) July 31, 2026
Aside from the clip above giving me a classic Leonardo DiCaprio "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" meme moment, it makes it hard for me to positively forecast how Musayev will look against the first and only dedicated southpaw I could find on his record.
Whereas Klein, for all his strengths and limitations alike, is a product whom we can be fairly confident in what we'll get from him. In fact, given Klein's looming southpaw counters and Musayev's growing propensity to sit back and counter himself, I suspect that we could be in for a steady, prolonged striking affair that sees the scorecards (as both men also come with solid chins and gas tanks in tow).
For that reason, I elected to target a same game parlay (SGP) in order to shave down the price on Klein.
There's a few options that make sense here, inlcuding Klein and the over 1.5 rounds (-130 on DraftKings), Klein and over 2.5 rounds (best price of +114 at Caesars), or Klein in Round 3/by decision (equivelant to Klein and over 2.0 rounds) at -105 via FanDuel. I'm officially going with the former option, but all are viable based on your risk tolerance.
From predicting Musayev to lose in round 3 to Alexander Shabliy to forecasting his early submission loss to Mytybek Orolbai, I've been pretty spot on when it comes to calling Musayev fights (also called for him to lose to Bahamondes in round 2 before a flagrant foul robbing me of that 10 Unit swing).
Let's see if my accuracy continues here.
Dan's Pick: Klein & Over 1.5 Rounds SGP -130 (DraftKings)
