More bouts have been added to UFC Utica and UFC 225, and in today’s MMA odds and ends I’ll give my thoughts on them, as well as touch on the Pro Fighters League’s recent news announcing its divisions and structure.
Nik Lentz vs. Leonardo Santos, UFC Fight Night 131
A lightweight contest between Nik Lentz and Leonardo Santos is the latest addition to UFC Fight Night 131, which takes place Friday, June 1 at Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, New York. The bout is the 13th and presumably final contest added to the card, which is headlined by an important five-round bantamweight bout between Jimmie Rivera and Marlon Moraes. Lentz (28-8-2, 1 NC ) is still kicking around the UFC and winning fights nearly a decade after joining the world’s top MMA promotion. Lentz, who is 33 now, is 12-5-1, 1 NC in the UFC and is coming off of a submission win over Will Brooks. Letnz is a very good wrestler who has improved his finishing skills in recent years and is not an easy out for anyone. Santos (16-3-1) is one of the most underrated lightweights in the UFC and has a 5-0-1 record overall inside the Octagon. The Brazilian is 38 now and hasn’t fought in over a year but is coming off of back-to-back wins over Adriano Martins and Kevin Lee and is a guy who would probably be ranked around 15 in the UFC if he was more active. The long layoff is a huge concern, no question, but you can’t forget Santos hasn’t lost in nearly a decade. Lentz is a winning fighter but so is Santos, and I would favor the Brazilian to win this fight.
Clay Guida vs. Bobby Green, UFC 225
A lightweight bout between Clay Guida and Bobby Green is the latest addition to UFC 225, which goes down Saturday, June 9 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. ChicagoTribune.com reported the contest. Guida (34-17) is 13-11 all-time in the UFC but has really come on strong as of late, winning back-to-back fights over Joe Lauzon and Erik Koch. Green (24-8-1) is 5-3-1 in the UFC and in his last fight also defeated Koch. Both fighters have been looking good as of late but with Guida’s wrestling advantage I would have to imagine he will be favored here, though Green’s boxing makes him live in this matchup.
Pro Fighters League Announces Roster
The Pro Fighters League has officially announced its full roster for its upcoming first season of fights, with six divisons set to compete in season-long tournaments that will yield a combined $10-million (U.S.) in prize money. MMAjunkie.com has all the details of the first season, including the full rosters listing every fighter in every weight class. PFL will hold tournaments starting June and finishing in December — which consist of a regular season followed by playoffs and a championship — in the following divisions: heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, and featherweight. Some of the fighters to keep of note are (by division): Andre Harrison, Lance Palmer and Marcos Galvao at 145lbs; Will Brooks, Thiago Tavares and Rashid Magomedov at 155lbs; Paul Bradley, Rick Story and Jake Shields at 170lbs; Eddie Gordon, John Howard and Gasan Umalatov at 185lbs; Brandon Halsey, Vinny Magalhaes and Sean O’Connell at 205lbs; and Jared Rosholt, Francimar Barroso and Shawn Jordan at 265lbs. PFL looks like it has a really nice roster overall and it will be interesting to see how this type of regular season – playoff format works in the sport of MMA.
