A few new UFC fights were announced over the weekend, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my quick thoughts on all of them. Raphael Assuncao vs. Pedro Munhoz, UFC 170 A bantamweight bout between Raphael Assuncao and Pedro Munhoz is the latest addition to the UFC 170 card after Francisco Rivera pulled out of the bout with Assuncao. It will mark Munhoz’ UFC debut after he won the RFA bantamweight title. It’s an interesting fight as Munhoz is extremely talented, young, and has the support of the betting public. Although I believe Assuncao should be a slight favorite here, perhaps -150 or so, after Munhoz was -3000 in his last RFA bout I really don’t know what to think of this line in the Assuncao fight. I think Munhoz is a dangerous fighter for Assuncao to take, so unless the vet is available at plus money I think this is going to be a dog-or-pass situation. Yosdenis Cedeno vs. Ernest Chavez, UFC 170 Another bout was added to UFC 170, as debuting lightweights Yosdenis Cedeno and Ernest Chavez will make their respective promotional debuts on short notice. I am not really familiar with either fighter enough to confidently make a lean, and unless either fighter is available at good plus money this is a fight that you should just watch, learn from ,and pass as far as a bet goes. Nikita Krylov vs. Ovince St-Preux, UFC 171 After Thiago Silva was cut from the UFC, the promotion booked Nikita Krylov to take on Ovince St-Preux at UFC 171. It’s Krylov’s light heavyweight debut. This is an interesting fight. I know Krylov’s fight against Soa Palelei last year was epically bad, but he looked amazing in his 25-second KO win over Walt Harris at UFC on FOX 10 — the fastest head kick KO in UFC history, by the way. As for St-Preux, he’s 2-0 in the UFC with a big KO win over Cody Donovan in his last outing at UFC Fight Night 26, but he’s a lot older than Krylov and won’t have a size advantage in this fight. I still think St-Preux is going to be around a -250 favorite here, but in my opinion this is going to be a dog-or-pass situation. Johnny Bedford vs. Rani Yahya, UFC Fight Night 39 An intriguing bantamweight bout will take place at UFC Fight Night 39 in Abu Dhabi as Johnny Bedford takes on Rani Yahya. Yahya is dropping back down to 135 pounds for this fight after an up-and-down stint at 145. Bedford is a solid fighter but his biggest issue is his submission defence, and Yahya is one of the wizards of mixed martial arts grappling. Look for the fight to hit the floor and Yahya to sink in the submission once it does. I favor Yahya at around 2-to-1 in this bout. Shayna Baszler vs. Sarah Kaufman, TUF Nations Finale A women’s bantamweight bout between Shayna Baszler and Sarah Kaufman was added to the TUF Nations Finale. It’s a rematch of their bout in Strikeforce in 2009 that Kaufman won via unanimous decision. It also marks Baszler’s official UFC debut after losing on TUF 18. Although I think Baszler is a tremendous fighter, I actually favor Kaufman in this fight. First, she won the original fight. Second, she is younger with more room to improve. And third, she is fighting in her home country of Canada. I’m not counting Baszler out but Kaufman should enter this fight as a -175 or so favorite. Jim Miller vs. Bobby Green, UFC 172 And finally, a lightweight bout between Jim Miller and Bobby Green has been added to UFC 172. The fight, which should be very entertaining, will likely open up the PPV main card for the Jon Jones/Glover Teixeira-headlined event. Although Miller will likely enter the fight as the favorite due to name value and the fact the public loves him, I believe Green has a very good chance of the upset here, and if I can get “King” at any sort of plus money I am going to take a shot at him this April.
