Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov: Fight Preview, Prediction, UK Start Time

Published April 7, 2026 at 2:05 pm

Written by Jimmy Johnson

Tyson Fury is set to return to the ring for the first time since 2024 to take on dangerous Russian power puncher Arslanbek Makhmudov in a 12-round Heavyweight contest on April 11.

In his last fight, Fury was out-pointed by Heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk over 12 rounds. Fury disputed the decision, but most audiences believed it was a fair call in Usyk’s favour.

Makhmudov, meanwhile, defeated Dave Allen by unanimous decision in his last contest. There were a couple of hairy moments, but Makhmudov largely controlled the action and kept ‘the White Rhino’ in his shell.

Fury has acknowledged the danger that Makhudov presents – how will the ‘Gypsy King’ get on in his return bout?

Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov Preview

	Fights	Wins(KOs)	Losses(KOs)	Draws/NCs
Tyson Fury	36	34(24)	2(0)	1
A. Makhmudov	23	21(19)	2(2)	0

Stylistically, Makhmudov possesses attributes that will negate much of Fury’s game. The Morecambe man, especially in his later career, likes to lean on his opponents and rough them up in the clinch. He won’t be able to do this against Makhmudov – he is far too physically strong for this.

On the other hand, Makhmudov is quite slow, so one would expect Fury to have the faster feet and hand speed. He shouldn’t have many issues in landing on Makhmudov, but whether he can hurt him or not is a different question. He will probably have to plant his feet to put Makhumdov in trouble, which will leave him open to the Russian’s thunderous straight shots.

Nevertheless, being the far superior technician, Fury should be able to use the angles and land shots without taking much in return – he may have to be content with a decision win, though.

Don’t be surprised if Fury has trouble in this one. We’re not expecting a textbook display from the ‘Gypsy King’, but we are expecting him to grind out a win after 12 rounds.

EB’s Official Prediction: Tyson Fury by UD

Undercard

Heading the undercard is Conor Benn vs Regis Prograis. If we can speak with candour for a moment, we don’t really like this fight – Prograis has been over the hill for some time now, while Benn needs a competitive fight against a live body.

Beating Prograis at this stage of his career proves nothing and is sadly indicative of Benn’s career up to this point. Fighters like Chris Algieri, Samuel Vargas and Chris Eubank Jr. were respectable names in their heyday, but not when Benn fought them.

Additionally, Prograis is rumoured to be injured going into the bout – despite his insistence that he is fully fit. We’ll see – but fit or not, Benn should win this one within the distance.

Jeamie TKV is set to square off against Richard Riakporhe in a Heavyweight contest for TKV’s British Heavyweight title. Riakpohre’s long, scything swings won’t help him against a clever, compact fighter like TKV, who out-gunned Frazer Clarke to win the title.

We think TKV is underrated – he has probably reached his ceiling, but Riakpohre has often looked dumbfounded against technically-superior fighters. He can certainly crack, but TKV can also take a punch and will give him all sorts of issues on the inside.

Furthermore, we also have Frazer Clarke vs Justis Huni. Both have been knocked out by Fabio Wardley, but Clarke’s last performance raised concerns. In a losing effort against Jeamie TKV, he looked fatigued, mentally drained and generally low on ideas throughout the contest.

A sharp, vicious counter puncher, we’re expecting Huni to finish off Clarke before the end of the scheduled 12 rounds.

The full undercard for Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov is as follows: