The UFC yesterday announced the headliner for the upcoming UFC Fight Night Berlin card on May 31, and the main event will be a five-round middleweight bout between top-10 ranked Gegard Mousasi and Mark Munoz. This is a very good matchup between two of the best middleweights in the world, and the winner of the matchup should be poised for title contention if they achieve victory in impressive fashion. Both men are coming off losses to Lyoto Machida, with Munoz having been knocked out with a head kick at UFC Fight Night 30 and Mousasi losing via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 35, so it makes a lot of sense to pair these two up now. Plus, we all know that if Mousasi has one weakness it’s his wrestling, and Munoz is a very solid wrestler, while Mousasi’s strength is his striking and that’s Munoz’ weakness. So from a style’s perspective this fight booking makes a lot of sense. As far as a line goes, look for Mousasi to be around -250 in this spot as the public isn’t likely to give Munoz any sort of respect coming off the head kick destruction by Machida, and it wouldn’t shock me at all if the line on Mousasi went higher than that. Dober vs. Hein Booked For UFC Fight Night Berlin Additionally, a lightweight bout between UFC newcomer Nick Hein and Drew Dober was also announced for the Berlin card. Hein is a top prospect out of Germany, while Dober is a solid lightweight with UFC experience, and this fight should be pretty exciting when it goes down. Although I do think Dober is better than some think he is, Hein will be at least a 2-to-1 favorite here and possibly even higher as the German looks to make his mark in the Octagon. Skelly vs. Bektic Late Addition To UFC on FOX 11 And there’s a late addition to April’s UFC on FOX 11 card in Orlando, Florida, as top featherweight prospects Chas Skelly and Mirsad Bektic have been given the call up on one month’s notice to fight in the big show. Both highly-touted prospects are undefeated and on the right side of 30, and both seem to be poised for bright and long futures in mixed martial arts, so I would consider both solid signings by the UFC. However, I wish the UFC had booked for a future card, not one that’s just four weeks’ away, so we know just exactly where both men stand with full camps. As for the betting line, I would expect it to be close to around even, with a possibly slight lean to Bektic, who trains nearby at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida.
