The UFC announced a number of new bouts of the weekend, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my quick take on the new fights. Leandro Issa vs. Jumabieke Tuerxun, TUF 19 Finale A bantamweight bout between Leandro Issa and Jumabieke Tuerxun was added to the TUF 19 Finale, which takes place July 6 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a filler fight between two guys who are barely UFC caliber and I’m not expecting much from it. But I do have a pretty strong lean here and it’s towards Issa, who really should win this fight over Tuerxun, arguably the most overrated fighter in the entire division. Look for a close line here and if Tuerxun is favored again by the betting public I won’t be shocked (the public loves this guy for some reason), but I do think Issa is the right side here and I think he’s going to win this fight. Tom Watson vs. Sam Alvey, UFC Fight Night 47 (Maine) The UFC signed MFC middleweight champion Sam Alvey over the weekend and the former TUF 16 competitor will make his official Octagon debut against Tom Watson at UFC Fight Night 47, which is set for August 17 at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine. I believe that Alvey deserves to be in the UFC but the promotion isn’t giving him an easy matchup here against Watson, who is one of the best clinch fighters in the division. Although Alvey is a tremendous striker himself, he doesn’t have the wrestling skills to give Watson problems and on paper this should be a fun standup fight that really could go either way. I could see either guy winning this fight but I do slightly favor Watson due to his prior UFC experience and the fact he’s fought better competition. But it’s not a gimme fight at all, and if Alvey does win I won’t be shocked. Look for a close betting line for this one. Zhang Lipeng vs. Brendan O’Reilly, UFC Fight Night 48 (Macau) And in a lightweight bout, TUF China winner Zhang Lipeng will take on UFC newcomer Brendan O’Reilly at UFC Fight Night 48, which is set for August 23 at CotaiArena in Macau, China. I think the UFC is trying to build up Lipeng as a star in China and he should dispatch of O’Reilly, who couldn’t even cut it on TUF Nations. Not to say O’Reilly can’t win this fight, but I really don’t see why the UFC would want Lipeng to lose and I do think they see stylistic advantages for him in this one and that’s why they booked it. Look for Lipeng to open as a slight favorite here, perhaps in the 2-to-1 range.
