Two new fights were announced over the weekend for two upcoming UFC cards, and for Monday morning’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my preliminary thoughts on both bouts. Fabio Maldonado vs. Steve Bosse, UFC 186 Due to Rampage Jackson being removed from UFC 186 following a contract dispute with Bellator, his opponent Fabio Maldonado will now face off against Quebecer Steve Bosse at UFC 186, which takes place April 25 at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The bout will be on the main, pay-per-view televised card. I actually really like this fight between Maldonado and Bosse, which should be a striker’s delight, but I do not think it’s a suitable replacement for Rampage vs. Maldonado. While the Brazilian and the Quebecer will no doubt throw down and the fans at Bell Centre will go home happy, let’s face it, Bosse is very unknown outside of Montreal and this fight is not going to make people buy UFC 186 on PPV. While Bosse is a local draw and may sell some extra tickets because of his name, he’s not a PPV draw, and without Rampage on the card I expect it to bomb. Getting back to the fight between Maldonado and Bosse, it’s going to be a slugfest and someone is going to go down swinging. Bosse, a former hockey enforcer, has huge knockout power in his hands but he’s been out of action for two years and was semi retired before getting the call to fight Maldonado, who is a top-15 light heavyweight. Maldonado is a veteran of the game and has done well as of late, but looking closer seems to be showing signs of fading. Still, Maldonado is an extremely durable individual and he has solid striking, and as long as he can weather the early storm by Bosse he should be able to take over late and win. I give Bosse a puncher’s chance here, because how couldn’t you, but Maldonado should be a decent favorite here, probably around 3-to-1 or higher. Not because he’s some great fighter or anything, but because of the short notice factor and because of the fact Bosse hasn’t fought in so long. Having said that, I do see some Quebec action coming in on Bosse, so perhaps Maldonado will be undervalued here, but I think stylistically it’s a good fight for him and he should win. Cody Garbrandt vs. Henry Briones, UFC 189 Top bantamweight prospect Cody Garbrandt will return for his second fight in the Octagon when he takes on TUF Latin America’s Henry Briones at UFC 189, which takes place July 11 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight will be on the televised preliminary card. This should be an absolute barnburner. Garbrandt showed extreme knockout power for a bantamweight in his UFC debut victory over Marcus Brimage, a third-round TKO win at UFC 182, while Briones showed power in his own UFC debut, rocking Guido Cannetti badly and then taking his back for a submission victory. To be honest, while I do like this fight stylistically, I thought Garbrandt would get a bigger name after beating Brimage, but this fight with Cannetti — who is undefeated in his last eight fights — is going to be a whole lot of fun and I’m quietly excited for it. While Briones looked awesome in his UFC debut, Garbrandt is a special, special prospect and I would be surprised if he lost this fight. Look for “No Love” to be the rightful favorite in this fight as he looks to stay unbeaten in his MMA career and take the next step at 135lbs.
