The UFC continued to announce a number of new matchups in the last 24 hours or so, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my quick thoughts on all the new fights. Stefan Struve vs. Matt Mitrione, UFC 175 He’s back! The UFC yesterday announced that heavyweight Stefan Struve will return from a long absence due to a heart condition and he’ll take on Matt Mitrione at UFC 175, which takes place July 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a great fight between two fighters who always go for the finish and I’ll tell you right now that there is no way this fight goes the full three rounds. I do favor Struve due to his submission prowess and height/length advantage, but Mitrione is no slump and he has the knockout power to end Struve’s night. Look for a competitive line here but with a slight lean towards Struve. Derrick Lewis vs. Guto Inocente, TUF 19 Finale The TUF 19 Finale, which takes place July 6 in Las Vegas, just got a little bit better with the addition of a heavyweight bout between Derrick Lewis and Guto Inocente. Lewis is 1-0 in the UFC while Inocente hasn’t fought in the Octagon yet due to injuries. He’s had an extremely long layoff since his last fight in Strikeforce, and despite the fact that he trains with a good camp at the Blackzilians it’s hard to back a fighter who has been off for so long. So I have to lean towards Lewis in this spot, although the line should still be fairly competitive. Anthony Johnson vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, UFC on FOX 12 A high-profile light heavyweight matchup between Anthony Johnson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is the first fight added to the UFC on FOX 12 card, which takes place July 26 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. This is a great fight on paper and the only question is if Nogueira, who hasn’t fought in over a year, actually makes it to the fight this summer. If he does, then the fans should be treated to an awesome stand-up war between two great strikers, and it should be a great fight when it goes down. That being said, I definitely lean towards “Rumble” in this one to get the win and move one step closer to a title shot. Zach Makovsky vs. Jussier Formiga, UFC 176 And finally, a flyweight bout between Zach Makovsky and Jussier Formiga — two top-10 ranked fighters — will take place at UFC 176 on August 2 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. This is a very competitive fight on paper and the winner of the bout will jump into the upper echelon of the UFC flyweight division, and perhaps be only one fight away from a title shot. I slightly lean towards Makovsky in this one just due to the wrestling advantage he should have, but Formiga is an awesome grappler and could pull off the win for sure. Look for the line for this one to open close to a Pick ’em.
