A number of new UFC matchups were announced in the last 24 hours, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my thoughts on all of them. James Moontasri vs. Cody Pfister, UFC Fight Night 60 An injury to Jake Lindsey knocked him out of his UFC Fight Night 60 matchup with James Moontasri and now UFC newcomer Cody Pfister will take on Moontasri on February 14 at 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. I think quite highly of Moontasri and I think he’ll do very well in this fight, and I’ll be looking to bet on him in a few weeks’ time. Germaine de Randamie vs. Larissa Pacheco, UFC 185 A women’s bantamweight bout between Germain de Randamie and Larissa Pacheco is the latest addition to UFC 185, which takes place March 14 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. This is a really good fight between two solid strikers, but I have to lean towards the younger fighter here in Pacheco. It’s a tough one because de Randamie is so technical, but I think Pacheco is on the rise and I see her doing quite well in this bout. Francisco Trinaldo vs. Akbarh Arreola, UFC Fight Night 62 A lightweight bout between Francisco Trinaldo and Akbarh Arreola has been added to UFC Fight Night 62, which takes place March 21 at Ginasio do Maracanazinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Trinaldo is a beast of a fighter but we all know he gasses bad if he can’t finish in the first round, and Arreola is a relatively tough fighter so you can’t completely count him out. This is a tough one to call, but I slightly lean towards Trinaldo due to the hometown factor. Julianna Pena vs. Milana Dudieva, UFC Fight Night 63 A women’s bantamweight bout between TUF 18 winner Julianna Pena and Milana Dudieva was added to UFC Fight Night 63, which takes place April 4 at Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. It’s great to see Pena back in the Octagon and I believe she could contend for the title with just a few more wins. Dudieva is a decent fighter but Pena should absolutely smash her in this spot. Look for Pena to open as a big favorite here, perhaps over 3-to-1. Seth Baczynski vs. Leon Edwards, UFC Fight Night 64 A welterweight bout between Seth Baczynski and Leon Edwards will take place at UFC Fight Night 64, which is set for April 11 at Krakow Arena in Krakow, Poland. Baczynski is from a Polish background so it makes sense he fights in Poland, but Edwards is kind of a bad matchup for him. I wasn’t that impressed with Edwards in his UFC debut against Claudio Silva but I think he’ll have a better performance here. It’s a close fight but I lean slightly towards Edwards to pick up the W. Pawel Pawlak vs. Sheldon Westcott, UFC Fight Night 64 As well, a welterweight bout between Pawel Pawlak and Sheldon Westcott was added to UFC Fight Night 64. Both of these guys were poor in their respective UFC debuts and I’m not expecting much from these guys this April. I slightly lean towards Westcott here, but this isn’t a fight I am looking to bet on. Corey Anderson vs. Gian Villante, UFC on FOX 15 And finally, a light heavyweight bout between TUF 19 winner Corey Anderson and Gian Villante is the latest addition to UFC on FOX 15, which takes place April 18 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. These two were originally set to meet at UFC 181 but Villante had to pull out with an injury and was replaced by Justin Jones, who Anderson smashed. I think Anderson beats Villante too and I believe he should be at least a 2-to-1 favorite in this spot.
