Ikram Aliskerov can make another statement when he faces Jun Yong Park on the prelims.

The 32-year-old has three first-round finishes to his name

Aliskerov has three first-round stoppages so far in the UFC, while his only defeat came when stepping up to face former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at just days’ notice last June.

Park has a come-forward style with solid grappling, but has yet to find a finish on the feet in nine UFC wins, and that will give Aliskerov even more confidence in his striking.

Aliskerov feels beyond this level of competition already, and his power advantage in the stand-up and supreme combat sambo grappling is tipping the scales in favour of another finish.

Alexander Volkov looks more than a solid underdog against Jailton Almeida.

The Russian’s four fight win streak was broken last December with a controversial split decision loss to Ciryl Gane.

Standing at 6”7, Volkov has improved in all areas since moving to train in Las Vegas and his kickboxing could be problematic for a grappler like Almedia if he can’t take the fight to the ground.

Volkov’s sheer size makes him a tricky customer for all styles, while Almeida failed in his first step up to top five class against Curtis Blaydes and this looks a trickier assignment.

Ezra Taylor had been set to face Lewis Edmondson but injury forced him to pull out, wit Steed Woodall coming in as a late replacement. Taylor is 12-0 with eight wins inside the distance and he can make light work of Woodall, who has lost two of his last four fights.

Tom Aspinall has left a trail of destruction behind him in the UFC, winning eight of his nine fights with none of them going the distance.

Only one of his fights has reached the second round, and he should outclass Ciryl Gane on Saturday.

Wardley has enjoyed an incredible rise through the ranks after starting out in white-collar bouts but he may find the experienced Parker too much to cope with.

The New Zealander has wins over Andy Ruiz, Derek Chisora (twice), Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang on his CV and was last seen blowing away an underprepared Martin Bakole inside two rounds.

Wardley is a huge puncher but his flaws were ruthlessly exposed by the relatively unknown Justis Huni last time out. Huni was able to connect at regular intervals on Wardley and was way ahead on the scorecards, with the Ipswich man needing a sensational shot in the 10th round to secure a stoppage win in a bout he appeared destined to lose.

Given Wardley’s one-punch stoppage ability, there is a temptation to side with the 3/1 underdog but I suspect Parker will be too good for the British hopeful. Parker carries plenty of power himself with 24 of his 36 wins coming inside the distance and he should be able top carve out openings from the get go.

Parker’s road back towards world title contention has been a long one after losing his title to Anthony Joshua on points back in 2018. This is one of those occasions where I wouldn’t mind being wrong but I just don’t see Parker slipping up at the final hurdle here and he can get the job done inside the opening six rounds, as Wardley’s defence looks incredibly suspect.

Joseph Parker is on the cusp of reclaiming a world title or potentially challenging for undisputed honours and he can get the job done against Fabio Wardley. Wardley’s defence was lacking against Justis Huni last time out, and Parker is an elite operator who should be able to carve out openings from the off.  Wardley is unbeaten but this could be a step too far and Parker can claim a win in the first half of the fight.

Juergen Uldedaj has a 20-1 record and is the heavy favourite ahead of his showdown with Rolly Lambert Fogoum. Uldedaj should have the quality to win but he has a modest stoppage rate with just eight KO wins and he may need the judges here.

Steed Woodall is stepping in as a late replacement against Ezra Taylor and he could be in for a tough evening. Taylor is 12-0 with eight wins inside the distance and he can make light work of Woodall, who has lost two of his last four fights.

Tom Aspinall has left a trail of destruction behind him in the UFC, winning eight of his nine fights with none of them going the distance.

Only one of his fights has reached the second round, and he should outclass Ciryl Gane on Saturday.

Wardley has enjoyed an incredible rise through the ranks after starting out in white-collar bouts but he may find the experienced Parker too much to cope with.

The New Zealander has wins over Andy Ruiz, Derek Chisora (twice), Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang on his CV and was last seen blowing away an underprepared Martin Bakole inside two rounds.

Wardley is a huge puncher but his flaws were ruthlessly exposed by the relatively unknown Justis Huni last time out. Huni was able to connect at regular intervals on Wardley and was way ahead on the scorecards, with the Ipswich man needing a sensational shot in the 10th round to secure a stoppage win in a bout he appeared destined to lose.

Given Wardley’s one-punch stoppage ability, there is a temptation to side with the 3/1 underdog but I suspect Parker will be too good for the British hopeful. Parker carries plenty of power himself with 24 of his 36 wins coming inside the distance and he should be able top carve out openings from the get go.

Parker’s road back towards world title contention has been a long one after losing his title to Anthony Joshua on points back in 2018. This is one of those occasions where I wouldn’t mind being wrong but I just don’t see Parker slipping up at the final hurdle here and he can get the job done inside the opening six rounds, as Wardley’s defence looks incredibly suspect.

Joseph Parker is on the cusp of reclaiming a world title or potentially challenging for undisputed honours and he can get the job done against Fabio Wardley. Wardley’s defence was lacking against Justis Huni last time out, and Parker is an elite operator who should be able to carve out openings from the off.  Wardley is unbeaten but this could be a step too far and Parker can claim a win in the first half of the fight.