We have a couple new fight announcements to tell you about in today’s MMA odds and ends. Here are the new bouts, along with my initial thoughts on them:
Michael Chandler vs. Brandon Girtz, Bellator 197
Before I get into the new UFC bouts, there’s a change in the upcoming Bellator schedule to touch on. Due to an injury to Bellator lightweight champion Brent Primus, the new main event of Bellator 197 will be a non-title lightweight matchup between former champ Michael Chandler and Brandon Girtz. The event takes place Friday, April 13 at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Missoirui. MMAFighting.com broke the news. Chandler (17-4) has won four of his last five fights including a decision win over Goitui Yamauchi in his last outing. Girtz (15-7) has lost three of his last four bouts but is coming off of a KO win over Luka Jelcic. Considering Chandler’s pedigree and Girtz’ inconsitencies, and the fact he took this bout on short notice, I’d expect Chandler to open as a significant favorite for this fight.
Volkan Oezdemir vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, UFC Fight Night 129
The UFC has made official a light heavyweight matchup between Volkan Oezdemir and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for UFC Fight Night 129, which takes place Saturday, May 19 at Movistar Area in Santiago, Chile. Oezdemir (15-2) was arguably the 2017 “Fighter of the Year” but opened up 2018 with a TKO loss to Daniel Cormier. Rua (25-10) is an aging legend but is on a three-fight win streak including a TKO win over Gian Villante in his last outing. Though Rua is on a nice win streak, Oezdemir is the younger, faster and more powerful striker and he will likely enter this fight as a significant betting favorite as bettors look to fade Rua.
Jason Knight vs. Makwan Amirkhani, UFC Fight Night 130
A featherweight matchup between Jason Knight and Makwan Amirkhani is the latest addition to the ever-expanding UFC Liverpool card. UFC Fight Night 130 takes place Sunday, May 27 at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, and the main event featuring welterweight contender Darren Till is likely to be announced in the coming days. For now, this fun bout between Knight and Amirkhani is official. Knight (20-4) has a solid 4-3 record in the UFC so far but he is on a two-fight losing streak at the moment and needs to bounce back with a win. Amirkhani (13-3) is 3-1 overall in the UFC but took a split decison loss to Arnold Allen his last time out. Look for close odds in this one, with a slight lean towards Knight.
USADA Pulls Mendes From UFC Fight Night 128
USADA has informed bantamweight Augusto Mendes of a potential anti-doping violation and he was removed from a scheduled bout at UFC Fight Night 128 against Merab Dvalishvili, who the UFC is looking for a replacement opponent for. UFC Fight Night 128 takes place Saturday, April 21 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey and is headlned by a five-round lightweight bout pitting Kevin Lee against Edson Barboza.
