The UFC announced a few fights over this past weekend, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my quick thoughts on these new bouts. Henry Cejudo vs. Scott Jorgensen, UFC 177 The UFC has signed promising flyweight prospect Henry Cejudo, and the former Olympic gold medalist in men’s freestyle wrestling will meet veteran Scott Jorgensen in his promotional debut at UFC 177, which takes place August 30 at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California. Cejudo had issues making the 125lb flyweight limit in Legacy FC, but there’s no denying his skill in the wrestling department. If Cejudo can get his act together, he has the tools to go far in the sport and could potentially be the champion one day if he really starts to dedicate himself to the sport. As for Jorgensen, the veteran has had mixed results as of late, but is coming off of a Fight of the Night-winning outing against Danny Martinez, a victory which got him back in the win column. The signs of decline are there for Jorgensen but he is a talented fighter and still has something left in the tank. The line for this one will be interesting, as Jorgensen is usually favored in his fights, but with all the hype behind Cejudo it wouldn’t shock me at all if he was favored in the fight even though it’s his UFC debut. Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Ernest Chavez, UFC Fight Night 53 A featherweight bout between Zubaira Tukhugov and Ernest Chavez was added to UFC Fight Night 53, which takes place October 4 at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. It joins Nico Musoke vs. Amir Sadollah and Niklas Backstrom vs. Mike Wilkinson as fights announced so far for the UFC’s next trip to Sweden. This is a pretty good fight between a striker and a grappler. Tukhugov looked good in his UFC debut, outpointing Douglas Silva de Andrade en route to a decision win, while Chavez is 1-1 with a win over Yosdenis Cedeno and a loss to Elias Silverio, although it should be noted those fights were at 155lbs and he has now dropped to 145lbs. Look for a competitive line between Tukhugov and Chavez, with a slight lean towards the younger Tukhugov. Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes 2, UFC 179 And finally, the UFC announced they have re-booked the featherweight title fight between champion Jose Aldo and challenger Chad Mendes for UFC 179, which takes place August 25 at Ginasio do Maracanazinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The five-round fight will headline the pay-per-view card. There was already a betting line available for the bout when it was scheduled for UFC 176, with Aldo being the favorite and Mendes being the underdog. I expect the new line to be very similar to where it was before it was taken off the board, although some bettors may be cautious about backing Aldo after he once again pulled out of a fight with an injury. Still, Aldo is the champ and definitely deserves to be the favorite.
