UFC on FOX 16 goes down July 25 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois, and the UFC recently added a number of new bouts to the fight card. For today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my thoughts on these bouts. Takanori Gomi vs. Joe Lauzon A fun matchup between veteran 155lbers Takanori Gomi and Joe Lauzon takes place at UFC on FOX 16, and I’m not sure what to make of the bout. A few years ago this would have been an amazing fight, for sure, but after seeing the way both men performed in their last respective outings, with Gomi getting starched by Myles Jury in the first round and Lauzon getting dusted by Al Iaquinta, it’s hard to trust either guy with your hard-earned cash anymore. I think in this fight you have to lean towards Lauzon just because if this fight hits the mat he’ll have a massive advantage, but don’t be surprised if Gomi pulls another rabbit out of his hat. Erik Koch vs. Ramsey Nijem In a lightweight bout, Erik Koch takes on Ramsey Nijem in what could be a loser-leaves-town match. Koch hasn’t fought in a year since a brutal knockout loss to Daron Cruickshank, while Nijem last saw action at UFC 177, getting knocked out by Carlos Deigo Ferreira. Both fighters are talented and on the right side of 30, but both men just can’t seem to put it all together. This fight will come down to whose chin lasts longer, and both men hit hard yet neither can take a punch in return. If the fight stays on the feet, Koch will have the edge, but if it hits the mat you have to favor Nijem. A close fight, but with his wrestling edge Nijem is probably the right side here. Danny Castillo vs. Rustam Khabilov A lightweight fight between Danny Castillo and Rustam Khabilov, which was originally set for UFC 182, will take place at UFC on FOX 16. Like last time, I like Khabilov here. He did look awful against Adriano Martins in his last fight, but Castillo looked even worse against Paul Felder. Khabilov is still relatively young while Castillo is really getting up there in age, and Castillo is a wrestler while Khabilov is an anti-wrestler. He’s not a lock considering his last performance, but Khabilov should absolutely win this fight. James Krause vs. Daron Cruickshank An exciting lightweight matchup between strikers James Krause and Daron Cruickshank will also take place on this card. Krause is coming off of two-consecutive losses to Jorge Masvidal and Walmir Lazaro and with defeats in three of his last four fights he desperately needs a win to get back on track. As for Cruickshank, he’s coming off of a loss to Beneil Dariush and needs this win badly as well. This is a close fight. Both men are most likely going to look to stand and bang, although Cruicshank may look for takedowns. It’s a close fight but Cruickshank is a bit more well rounded and I have to lean his way, although on paper this doesn’t look like a great fight to bet on. Zak Cummings vs. Antonio Braga Neto And finally in a welterweight bout, Zak Cummings takes on Antonio Braga Neto. Cummings has not competed since a disappointing defeat to Gunnar Nelson last summer while Neto hasn’t fought since last summer either, when he was robbed in a split decision loss to Clint Hester. This is an interesting fight, make all them more so by Neto’s decision to move to 170lbs. That’s the wild card here, because his size could help him out a lot against Cummings. I have to lean towards the American ever-so-slightly because I think he’s the better all-around fighter, but Neto certainly has the tools to win this fight on the ground so don’t sleep on him.
