The UFC this week announced a few new matchups that slipped through the cracks for many, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my quick take on these bouts that may have passed you by. Brad Pickett vs. Neil Seery, UFC Fight Night 37 After Ian McCall was removed from his UFC Fight Night 37 bout against Brad Pickett with an injury, the UFC called upon Neil Seery of Ireland to fill the spot. Although Seery is an excellent fighter in his own right, Pickett is an exceptional mixed martial artist and holds advantages in most spots in this fight. Although he is making his flyweight debut and the weight cut may be difficult for him, I’d peg Pickett around a -250 favorite in this spot. Michel Prazeres vs. Maribek Taisumov, UFC Fight Night 38 An injury to Gleison Tibau took him out of his fight against Maribek Taisumov, and now Michel Prazeres take his spot. I’m not particularly interested in this fight, but it’s essentially a striker vs. grappler matchup and could play out better than I expect it to. Had Prazeres been given a full camp I’d likely lean his way, but considering Taisumov has had a full camp I think he deserves to be a very slight favorite here despite the fact the fight is in Brazil. George Roop vs. Dustin Kimura, TUF Nations Finale A bantamweight bout between George Roop and Dustin Kimura was added to the TUF Nations Finale. A very strange matchup here, but I like Roop to win it based on the fact he is the better striker, is bigger, and has way more experience. I know he’s coming off a loss and Kimura is coming off a win, but Roop matches up well here and I think he should be around -175. Ryan Jimmo vs. Steve Bosse, TUF Nations Finale As well, a light heavyweight bout between Ryan Jimmo and Steve Bosse was added to the TUF Nations Finale. The UFC is hoping that Bosse can KO Jimmo and end his UFC run, but I think this is a hard match for him considering Jimmo’s tendency to get takedowns and stall his fights out. Still, while I expect Jimmo to open as the favorite here there’s no way I would bet him in this spot against a hard hitter in Bosse. Danny Castillo vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg, UFC 172 A lightweight bout between Danny Castillo and Isaac Vallie-Flagg has been added to UFC 172. This seems like a bad matchup for Vallie-Flagg, and although Castillo has some flaws in his game, I really like him in this spot and think he should be around -220 in this spot. Sean Soriano vs. Estevan Payan, UFC on FOX 11 The UFC is giving Sean Soriano a fairly easy matchup in his next bout as he takes on Estevan Payan at UFC on FOX 11. I’m surprised Payan is getting another chance in the Octagon, but it’s obvious the UFC is doing this just so Soriano can pick up a win. Look for Soriano to be around -250 for this match, one that he should win. Darrell Montague vs. Kyogi Horiguchi, UFC Fight Night 40 A flyweight bout between Darrell Montague and Kyogi Horiguchi was added to UFC Fight Night 40. It’s a fun fight for sure, and it should be very close in the betting lines, but I expect that based on public hype Horiguchi will be a slight favorite in the odds. Louis Smolka vs. Chris Cariaso, UFC Fight Night 40 An exciting flyweight bout between two of my favorite flyweights Louis Smolka and Chris Cariaso is also going to take place at UFC Fight Night 40. This should be an amazing fight between two high-level strikers and although I’m high on both guys, I have to go with Smolka here and I think he should be the favorite going into the fight. Nik Lentz vs. Manny Gamburyan, UFC Fight Night 40 And UFC Fight Night 40 also added a featherweight bout between Nik Lentz and Manny Gamburyan. This fight should be a grind and likely won’t be very entertaining, but I definitely like Lentz in this fight and peg him around -220 in this spot. Doo Ho Choi vs. Sam Sicilia, UFC 173 In a featherweight bout at UFC 173, newcomer Doo Ho Choi takes on Sam Sicilia. This is a fight the UFC is booking in hopes of getting Choi a win in his Octagon debut, and I expect him to be around 2-to-1 or possibly even higher against Sicilia, who is likely in a must-win situation. Chris Holdsworth vs. Kyung Ho Kang, UFC 173 And finally, a bantamweight bout between Chris Holdsworth and Kyung Ho Kang was also added to UFC 173. This is a fun fight between two fighters coming off of submission victories, and the betting line should be close. Based on his hype from winning TUF, I’d expect Holdsworth to be a small favorite here, but Kang is absolutely a live dog here.
