There were a couple fight announcements made over the weekend and in today’s MMA odds and ends I will give my thoughts of the new matchups.
Davey Grant vs. Manny Bermudez, UFC Fight Night 130
A bantamweight matchup piting Davey Grant against Manny Bermudez will take place at UFC Fight Night 130, which is set for Sunday, May 27 at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. The bout was reported by Nolan King of MMAToday. Grant (10-3) is just 1-2 in the UFC. A finalist on TUF 18, Grant lost in the finals of the reality show to Chris Holdsworth back in 2013 and since then has only fought two more times, defeating Marlon Vera by decision and losing by submssion to Damian Stasiak. Grant hasnt fought in two years since 2016 and will likely have some ring rust in this comeback fight, though that didn’t seem to hurt him when he fought Vera a few years back. Bermudez (11-0) is one of the top prospects in the bantamwweight division and won by impressive fashion in his UFC debut as he submitted Albert Morales. Bermudez has excellent submissions and if he can improve his striking could be a future contender at 135lbs. Though Grant is the one with more UFC experience and will have the home-field advantage in this one, I still like Bermudez to get the win in this one and I expect him to be the favorite in this fight.
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Colby Covington Moved To UFC 225 The UFC confirmed the previously-reported interim welterweight title matchup between Rafael dos Anjos and Colby Covington. However, while intial reports had pegged the fight to take place at UFC 224 in Brazil, the fight has now been moved to UFC 225 in Chicago instead. It will serve as the co-main event to the main event middleweight title fight between Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero. Perhaps this was done in part due to safety concerns for Covington, who has talked a lot of smack about Brazilians. The fact the fight is in the United States now should give Covington a slight advantage compared to fighting in Brazil. I have written about this fight already so I don’t want to rehash to much, but even with the fight moving to the U.S., I still expect RDA to be favored in this fight. He’s just the more well-rounded and proven championship-level fighter, but there’s no doubt Covington is absolutely a live dog due to his wrestling ability.
