Shamil Gaziev vs. Brando Pericic prediction, pick for UFC Fight Night 275

TL;DR

Shamil Gaziev faces Brando Pericic at UFC Fight Night 275 in Perth, Australia. Gaziev aims to rebound from a recent loss, while Pericic seeks to capitalize on the matchup.

Key points

Shamil Gaziev vs. Brando Pericic at UFC Fight Night 275
Fight takes place at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia
Gaziev has a record of 14-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC
Gaziev lost his last fight by unanimous decision
Pericic aims to take advantage of Gaziev's recent loss

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Perth

Shamil GazievBrando PericicUFC Fight Night 275

Shamil Gaziev and Brando Pericic meet on the UFC Fight Night 275 main card Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.

Last event's results: 3-3
UFC main cards, 2026: 39-22

Shamil Gaziev vs. Brando Pericic UFC Fight Night 275 preview

Gaziev (14-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) saw his momentum of back-to-back wins over Don'Tale Mayes and Thomas Petersen halted in his last outing. In November, Waldo Cortes-Acosta handed him a unanimous decision loss, which was the second setback of his UFC run.

So far, so good for Pericic (6-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who has won both of his UFC fights by first-round stoppage against Elisha Ellison and Louie Sutherland.

Shamil Gaziev vs. Brando Pericic UFC Fight Night 275 expert pick, prediction

Considering the UFC matchmakers' apparent fetish for force-feeding us heavyweight fights on main cards, a back-to-back big guy offering featuring Shamil Gaziev and Brando Pericic shouldn't shock any of us at this point.

This is a decent step up for Pericic, so part of me feels cautious about siding with him as any sort of sure-thing favorite. That said, Pericic will have home-court advantage in a fight that was booked on shorter than usual notice.

It's hard to know how well prepared Gaziev will be, but if the Dagestani can ground Pericic early, we'll likely get a deeper glimpse into the Australian prospect's game.

Gaziev reminding the masses that experience matters in this spot wouldn't surprise me. I just suspect that Pericic's power and killer instincts will be too much for the former Dagestani national volleyball team member.

I'll pick Pericic, aka the second coming of Mark "Chopper" Read, to survive some early scares en route to a knockout win by Round 2.

Shamil Gaziev vs. Brando Pericic UFC Fight Night 275 odds

Despite the oddsmakers opening the Dagestani fighter as the favorite, public money has flipped the betting line, listing Pericic -142 and Gaziev +116 via FanDuel.