The UFC has announced a few more fights for upcoming fight cards. Here they are, along with my initial thoughts on them:
Markus Perez vs. James Bochnovic, UFC 224
A late-notice middleweight bout between Markus Perez and James Bochnovic has been added to UFC 224, which goes down Saturday, May 12 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The UFC has officially confirmed the bout. Perez (9-1) was given a brutal UFC debut matchup against Eryk Anders and not surprisingly lost the fight. However he was undefeated prior to the Anders bout and has the potential to get improve. Bochnovic (8-2) finished all of his wins on the regional circuit to get signed by the UFC, but was knocked out by Trevor Giles in his debut. Odds have already come out for this bout, with Perez opening at -200 and Bochnovic +175.
Kamaru Usman vs. Demian Maia, UFC Fight Night 129
After Santiago Ponzinibbio pulled out with an injury, the UFC has called upon short-notice replacement Demian Maia to fight the surging Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC Fight Night 129, which takes place Saturday, May 19 at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile. The UFC has officially confirmed the matchup. Usman (12-1) has won 11-straight fights and is undefeated in the UFC at 7-0. Usman has an extremely dominant wrestling game that has allowed him to surge up the welterweight rankings and quickly emerge as a top contender in the stacked UFC welterweight division. Maia (25-8) is one of the most accomplished grapplers in UFC history and has been a top contender at 170 and 185 throughout his career. However he is now 40 and coming off of two-straight losses, albeit to Tyron Woodley and Colby Covington. As good as Maia has been in his career, it’s hard to side with him considering all of the factors going against him. I fully expect Usman to be a sizeable favorite in this fight, though I am by no means dismissing a Maia upset.
