A new fight and a drug suspension make up the basis on today’s MMA odds and ends.
Michal Oleksiejczuk Suspended For One Year By USADA UFC light heavyweight Michal Oleksiejczuk has been suspended one year by USADA for failing a post-fight drug test following his UFC 219 win over Khalil Rountree, which is now a No Contest. According to a statement from USADA, Oleksiejczuk tested positive for clomiphene, and he has accepted a one-year sanction. Look for the Polish fighter to return in the beginning of 2019. When he does return, he should be in a good position to contend at 205lbs due to the shallowness of the division, despite this drug test failure.
Damian Stasiak vs. Pingyuan Liu, UFC Fight Night 134 A bantamweight bout between Damian Stasiak and Pingyuan Lui has been added to UFC Fight Night 134, which takes place Sunday, July 22 at Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany. The news of the bout was broken by Lowking.pl.
Stasiak (10-5) is just 2-3 in the UFC and is at risk of losing his job if he loses his next fight. Stasiak at one point had back-to-back submissions over Davey Grant and Filip Pejic but in his last two bouts he lost to Brian Kelleher and Pedro Munhoz. He seems to have found a role as a gatekeeper in the UFC at this point.
Liu (11-5) is one of the top prospects out of China right now and has won seven-straight fights. Keep in mind that his record doesn’t look good because he lost the first four fights of his career, but he’s 11-1 since and looks like one of the best prospects from China the UFC has found in a long time. Although Stasiak has shown at times he can be dominant in the UFC, I think Liu has all the upside here. I’d expect Stasiak to be a slight favorite due to his name value but Liu is someone to keep your eye on.
