A number of great fights in the UFC were announced over the weekend for upcoming cards, and I’ll give my thoughts on these new bouts in today’s MMA odds and ends.
Krzysztof Jotko vs. Adam Yandiev, UFC Fight Night 136
A middleweight fight featuring Krzysztof Jotko and UFC newcomer Adam Yandiev is the latest addition to UFC Fight Night 136, which takes place Saturday, September 15 at Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia. MMA-Today.com broke the news. Jotko (19-4) is coming off of three straight losses and is at risk of being cut by the UFC just not longer after he was a legitimate top-15 guy. Yandiev (9-0) is undefeated with all of his wins coming by stoppage, with many of his fights coming under the M-1 banner. He looks like a beast but he hasn’t fought since 2015 and it’s hard to say what we can expect from him in his UFC debut. As bad as Jotko has looked as of late, we have to keep in mind that he’s fought elite competition in the UFC middleweight division. On paper Yandiev looks super impressive but just keep in mind he has been fighting guys that aren’t at the UFC level. And for that reason I’d have to give the lean towards Jotko.
David Branch vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, UFC 230
A middleweight bout between David Branch and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza is the first fight booked for UFC 230, which takes place Saturday, November 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. ESPN.com’s Ariel Helwani first reported the bout. Branch (22-4) is coming off of a huge KO win over Thiago Santos that upped his UFC record to 2-1, and overall he’s won 12 of his last 13 fights. Souza (25-6, 1 NC) is 8-3 in the UFC and in his last fight lost a highly-controversial split decision to Kelvin Gastelum. Both fighters are excellent but Souza is a bit more proven inside the Octagon and deserves to be the favorite. Having said that, considering how good Branch looked in his last fight I wouldn’t put it past him to pull off the upset, and if he’s a big underdog I may consider him.
Mike Perry vs. Donald Cerrone, UFC Fight Night 139
A welterweight fight pitting Mike Perry and Donald Cerrone will take place at UFC Fight Night 139, which takes place Saturday, November 10 at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto first reported the matchup. Perry (12-3) is 5-3 in the UFC and is coming off of a hard-fought split decision win over Paul Felder, which snapped a two-fight losing streak. Cerrone (33-11, 1 NC) has lost four of his last five fights and in his last outing lost a decision to Leon Edwards. Cerrone is the better fighter on paper but with his declining chin going up against Perry’s KO power, it’s hard not to think Perry has a good chance to win this fight.
Also of note, a featherweight bout between Frankie Edgar and Chan Sung Jung which had been targeted for UFC 229 will take place at UFC Fight Night 139 instead, and could potentially headline the card.
