UFC kept everyone busy with a plethora of fight announcements yesterday including three for the upcoming UFC 192 pay-per-view. Here’s a look at them: Matt Brown vs Kelvin Gastelum, TUF: Latin America 2 Finale Kelvin Kastelum is getting another chance to compete at welterweight. Fresh off a dominant performance at middleweight over former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger Nate Marquardt, Gastelum asked for another chance to compete at 170 pounds. He’ll get that opportunity against top 10 welterweight Matt Brown, who scored an emphatic first round stoppage victory over Tim Means at UFC 189 last month. A victory for either man would cement them as a top contender in the welterweight division (as long as Gastelum can make weight). I would expect Gastelum to be the slight favorite due to his all-around game which includes superior wrestling, something that has given Brown fits throughout his lengthy UFC career. Jessica Eye vs Julianna Pena, UFC 192 Jessica Eye is looking for a quick turnaround. Despite coming up short in a number one contender match against Miesha Tate just two weeks ago, she already has a fight announced against Tate’s friend and winner of The Ultimate Fighter season 17, Julianna Pena. Pena looked to be a fresh face in the women’s bantamweight division but had a major setback after suffering a serious knee injury at her gym. She bounced back with a very impressive first round TKO over Russian Milana Dudieva. This will be a big test for Pena as to whether or not she could get herself into the UFC title mix, especially in a division begging for interesting challengers for champion Ronda Rousey. I would expect Pena to be a very slight favorite due to Eye’s trouble with defending takedowns against superior ground fighters and the quick turnaround. Sergio Pettis vs Chris Cariaso, UFC 192 Sergio Pettis is looking to bounce back in a big way following a shocking knockout loss to Ryan Benoit. The younger brother of the former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis has had an up and down UFC career thus far, going 3-2 overall. Cariaso has lost two straight although against two of the best fighters in the flyweight division in Henry Cejudo and champion Demetrious Johnson. The 34-year old is hoping to get back on track with his career. Cariaso should open as a favorite, but this is a winnable fight for Pettis. Cariaso doesn’t have a ton of pure punching power and as long as Pettis can avoid getting caught with something heavy, particularly Cariaso’s kicks, he has a decent chance to pull this one out. Alan Jouban vs Albert Tumenov, UFC 192 Now THIS is a fight fans will pay money to see. Both Jouban and Tumenov have been incredibly exciting action-packed fighters in the UFC’s welterweight division thus far. Jouban owns two impressive knockouts in his four UFC fights while Tumenov has won three straight including two first round finishes of his own. Neither man will likely back down here and the fight could be decided simply by which man lands the big shot first. I would expect Tumenov to open as the favorite due to a youth advantage and the fact that his chin hasn’t been tested, but this fight could go either way.
