A number of new UFC bouts were announced this week, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my thoughts on all of them. Neil Seery vs. Chris Beal, UFC on FOX 14 A flyweight bout between Neil Seery and Chris Beal is the latest addition to UFC on FOX 14, which is set for January 24 at Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. The fight will be a part of the evening’s preliminary card. I like this fight as it should be quite exciting. Seery is a very good striker with solid takedown defence, but he’s quite old while Beal is still young and coming into his own. Beal isn’t a great fighter, but he should be favored in this one, although I imagine it will be very competitive. Daniel Kelly vs. Patrick Walsh, UFC Fight Night 60 A middleweight bout between Daniel Kelly and Patrick Walsh has been added to UFC Fight Night 60, which takes place February 14 at 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The fight will be on the prelim card. Kelly looked great in his UFC debut, taking out Luke Zachrich via first-round submission, but Walsh is a stronger wrestler than Zachrich was. I still give Kelly the edge in grappling here, but I don’t know how his cardio will hold up over three rounds. The line should be close for this one but with a slight lean towards Kelly. Efrain Escudero vs. Rodrigo de Lima, UFC Fight Night 60 A lightweight bout between Efrain Escudero and Rodrigo de Lima has also been added to the prelims of UFC Fight Night 60. Escudero did not look good in his UFC return against Leo Santos, while de Lima was actually very competitive with Neil Magny in his debut last year, which was at welterweight. I think at 155lbs de Lima will look very good and I am expecting him to win this fight. He should be the favorite heading into this one. Neil Magny vs. Kiichi Kunimoto, UFC Fight Night 60 Neil Magny will look to up his win streak to six in a row in his home state when he takes on Kiichi Kunimoto at UFC Fight Night 60. It’s likely this bout will be on the main card. I’m not sure why the UFC keeps giving Magny guys at the lower end of the welterweight totem pole, but I don’t like it. It’s time for Magny to fight someone like Rick Story or Ryan LaFlare, not guys like Kunimoto. I like Magny in this matchup a lot, and think he should be a -300 favorite here as he continues to tear through the division. Caio Magalhaes vs. Mark Munoz, UFC 184 A middleweight bout between Caio Magalhaes and Mark Munoz has been set for UFC 184, which is scheduled for February 28 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. It’s likely this bout will be on the preliminary card, although it could be on the main card depending on what other bouts are added to the event. Magalhaes is on a nice roll and Munoz is certainly a step up, but it’s a winnable fight for him. I think Munoz’ chin is pretty much done, and Magalhaes has shown good knockout power lately. Munoz will be the favorite, but Magalhaes is a very live dog. Richard Walsh vs. Alan Jouban, UFC 184 A pair of welterweights coming off of controversial decisions will meet at UFC 184, as Richard Walsh takes on Alan Jouban in a preliminary card bout. This is a good fight, but Jouban should take it. As long as he can stay off the fence and fend off the takedowns, he will have a huge striking edge if this fight stays in the center of the cage and I have to think he enters the fight as a decent-sized favorite.
