A couple of new UFC bouts were revealed over the weekend, and here they are along with my initial thoughts on them in today’s MMA odds and ends.
Thiago Santos vs. Jimi Manuwa, UFC Fight Night 137
The new main event for UFC Fight Night 137 is a light heavyweight matchup between Thiago Santos and Jimi Manuwa, according to ESPN.com’s Chamatkar Sandhu. Santos is filling in on short notice for the injured Glover Teixeira and will be moving up a weight class for this bout. UFC Fight Night 137 takes place Saturday, September 22 at Ginasio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Santos (18-6) is 10-5 overall in the UFC and in his last fight he won a decision over Kevin Holland to get back in the win column after a KO loss to Dave Branch snapped his four-fight win streak. Manuwa (17-4) has just a 6-4 record in the UFC overall and in his last two bouts he was knocked out by Volkan Oezdemir and dropped a decision to Jan Blachowicz. I like this fight a lot especially considering it’s a short-notice affair. Manuwa is obviously more proven in the light heavyweight division but he is aging and his chin seems to be going a bit. Santos was always a huge middleweight and not having to cut so much weight could help his durability at 205lbs. In the same vein as Anthony Smith, I feel like moving up a division will help Santos a lot, and I think he will win this fight.
Petr Yan vs. Jin Soo Son, UFC Fight Night 136
A bantamweight matchup between top prospect Petr Yan and UFC newcomer Jin Soo Son has been added to UFC Fight Night 136, which takes place Saturday, September 15 at Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia. The bout was revealed by Ariel Helwani of ESPN.com. Yan (9-1) is 1-0 so far in the UFC with a TKO win over Teruto Ishihara in his debut to extend his win streak to four straight fights overall. Son (9-2) won four straight fights in DEEP to get his opportunity to fight in the UFC. No one wanted to fight Yan so credit to Son for stepping up when the UFC kept calling, but this is a really bad matchup for him on paper and I expect Yan to be a monster favorite heading into this bout.
Poliana Botelho vs. Cynthia Calvillo UFC Fight Night 140
A women’s strawweight bout featuring Poliana Botelho and Cynthia Calvillo is the latest addition to UFC Fight Night 140, which is set to take place Saturday, November 17 at Estadio Luna Park in Buenos Aries, Argentina. The bout was first announced by Combate. Botelho (7-1) is 2-0 so far in the UFC and in her last fight she knocked out Syuri Kondo after winning a decision over Pearl Gonzalez in her first UFC bout. Calvillo (6-1) is 3-1 so far in the UFC. After winning her first three bouts in the Octagon to keep her undefeated record intact, she dropped a decision to former champ Carla Esparza in her last fight. This should be a good fight but I lean towards Calvillo to get the win just based on her experience and her overall well-rounded skillset.
