Niko Price vs. Muslim Salikhov added to UFC Lincoln

An exciting welterweight bout between finishers Niko Price and Muslim Salikhov is the latest addition to the UFC Lincoln card.

UFC on ESPN+ 31 takes place on April 25 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. The card is headlined by a light heavyweight bout between top contenders Glover Teixeira and Anthony Smith. Price vs. Salikhov will likely be placed on the main card for the event.

Price vs. Salikhov was first reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto on Twitter.

Breaking: UFC finalizing a welterweight bout between Niko Price (@Nikohybridprice) and Muslim Salikhov for UFC Fight Night on April 25 in Lincoln. That should be a fun one. Combined 90% finishing rate between these two.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) February 12, 2020

“Breaking: UFC finalizing a welterweight bout between Niko Price ( @Nikohybridprice ) and Muslim Salikhov for UFC Fight Night on April 25 in Lincoln. That should be a fun one. Combined 90% finishing rate between these two.”

Price (14-3, 1 NC) is 6-3, 1 NC so far in the UFC and all of his fights in the Octagon have ended inside the distance. He is coming off of a huge knockout win over James Vick via upkick KO and also has knockout wins over Tim Means, Alan Jouban and Randy Brown, plus submission wins over Brandon Thatch and George Sullivan. His three losses in the UFC came against Geoff Neal, Vicente Luque, and Abdul Razak Alhassan, plus a No Contest against Alex Morono.

Price was hoping to get a top-15 opponent after knocking out Vick but will settle for Salikov in a potential “Fight of the Night” contender. In his MMA career Price has only been the distance one time. At age 30, he is in the prime of his fighting career.

Salikhov (16-2) is 3-1 overall in the UFC with wins over Laureano Staropoli, Nordine Taleb and Ricky Rainey and a loss to Alex Garcia. He has only been the distance two times in his career, with the majority of his wins coming by knockout. At age 35 he is a lot older than Price, but he is still a very capable fighter.

Who do you think wins this fight, Niko Price or Muslim Salikhov?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/12/2020.