It’s been a busy week for UFC fight announcements, and the fun didn’t stop Thursday with the revealing of two more bouts for upcoming fight cards. They are: Chas Skelly vs. Jim Alers, UFC Fight Night 60 A featherweight matchup between Chas Skelly and Jim Alers is a late addition to UFC Fight Night 60, which takes place February 14 at 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. It will be on the preliminary card. Skelly has looked tremendous in the UFC, going 2-1 with wins over Sean Soriano and Tom Niinimaki and a majority decision loss to Mirsad Bektic. Skelly has a tremendous grappling game and he has utilized it very well in the UFC so far, but Alers is a gritty fighter and if he can fend off Skelly’s takedowns, he could make this a war of attrition. Alers didn’t look great in his UFC debut against Alan Omer, but he did get the win there and he definitely has something to offer the UFC. Still, I like Skelly here. I think his grappling is extremely dangerous and hard to deal with, and I see him getting takedowns in this fight and finding a submission or grinding his way to victory. Look for Skelly to be a decent favorite here around 2-to-1. Daron Cruickshank vs. Beneil Dariush, UFC 185 A lightweight battle between Daron Cruickshank and Beneil Dariush has been added to UFC 185, which takes place March 14 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. It will be a part of the preliminary card. Cruickshank is coming off of a No Contest with KJ Noons, a fight he was winning that ended due to an unfortunate eye-poke. The UFC must have felt that he would have went on to win that fight because they are treating it like a win since they are matching him up against Dariush, who is coming off of two-straight victories over Tony Martin and Carlos Diego Ferreira. Both men are talented lightings that are climbing up the ladder, and this fight should be fairly exciting when it goes down. It’s a close fight to call because while Ferreira is primarily a grappler, he does have solid striking. Having said that, if this fight stays on the feet you have to give Cruickshank a huge edge, but if Dariush can get a takedown his ground game is worlds ahead of Cruickshank and he could get a submission. I lean Cruickshank ever so slightly here, but it’s a close, competitive matchup on paper.
