MMA Odds and Ends for Thursday: Bevy of New UFC Fights Announced

Ryan Bader The UFC yesterday announced a number of new fight bookings, for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my initial thoughts on all of them. Scott Jorgensen vs. Danny Martinez, UFC Fight Night Albuquerque In a flyweight bout, Scott Jorgensen takes on Danny Martinez at UFC Fight Night Albuquerque this June in what is definitely a must-win fight for both men. Jorgensen is coming off a controversial loss to Jussier Formiga while Martinez lost to Chris Cariaso in his UFC debut and so I expect both men to be highly motivated for this matchup. I think this is actually a close fight and based on how Jorgensen has looked at 125, Martinez certainly has a chance to win. Still, look for Jorgensen to be a slight favorite favorite going into this fight. Sean Spencer vs. Luiz Dutra, UFC Fight Night San Antonio A welterweight bout between Sean Spencer and Luiz Dutra was added to UFC Fight Night San Antonio. I think Spencer is one of the most underrated 170ers in the UFC today and the UFC is giving him a favorable matchup here in his home state of Texas. Although Dutra is dangerous, I believe Spencer is way more technical and I think he’s going to be able to win a decision here. I expect him to be a slight favorite here, by the way. Clint Hester vs. Antonio Braga Neto, UFC Fight Night San Antonio As well, a middleweight bout between Clint Hester and Antonio Braga Neto was added to UFC Fight Night San Antonio. I’m surprised that Hester hasn’t got a step up in competition yet but it’s obvious the UFC wants to see how much his ground game has improved before shooting him up the ladder. This is essentially a striker vs. grappler matchup and if you think the fight stays standing, you go with Hester and if you think it hits the floor, you go with Neto. I’m slightly leaning towards Hester here but it’s not a confident lean by any means. Ryan Bader vs. Feijao Cavalcante, UFC 174 In a light heavyweight bout, Ryan Bader takes on Feijao Cavalcante in an important light heavyweight bout. There aren’t many 205ers in the UFC so the winner of this fight is going to shoot into the top 10 of the division. It’s a tricky fight because while both men do have massive power both men have been knocked out or knocked down on numerous occasions before. I do think Bader has the better wrestling so I favor him ever-so-slightly, but this is a hard fight to bet on. Bruno Santos vs. Chris Camozzi, UFC 175 A middleweight match between Bruno Santos and Chris Camozzi is the latest addition to UFC 175. Of all the fights announced this week, this is by far the biggest head scratcher because Camozzi is a 10-fight UFC vet while Santos has fought just one time in the Octagon and didn’t look good at all. I figured Camozzi would get a higher-profile matchup than this, one he really should win. Camozzi should be about 2-to-1 in this one, and I think he definitely gets his hand raised. Aljamain Sterling vs. Hugo Viana, UFC Fight Night Atlantic City And finally, a bantamweight bout between up-and-comer Aljamain Sterling and TUF Brazil 1 vet Hugo Viana was added to UFC Fight Night Atlantic City, which is set for July. This is a really interesting fight between an athletic specimen and a knockout artist and I’m looking forward to it. I have to do more research on Sterling before I pick against the talented Viana, but I have a feeling the public is going to come in on him and I figure he’ll be the favorite in his hometown.

Written by Adam Martin.

Leave a Reply

Gabe Killian’s Recent UFC Matchmaking Predictions: The Winners

UFC 172 Fight Breakdown: Jon Jones (-525) vs. Glover Teixeira (+415)