A few new UFC fights were announced over the last couple of days, and here they are along with my initial thoughts on the bouts.
Cortney Casey vs. Angela Hill, UFC Fight Night 135
A women’s strawweight bout between Cortney Casey and Angela Hill is set for UFC Fight Night 135, which takes place Saturday, August 25 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. Casey is replacing the injured Alexa Grasso on relatively short notice, though with the event over a month away she should have ample time to prepare for the fight. Casey (7-6) is coming off of two straight losses and has a losing record in the UFC, but she’s been on the wrong end of some tight decisions and she has also fought a high level of competition. Hill (8-4) is coming off of a win over Maryna Moroz and has fared better her second time in the UFC. Both women are solid fighters who battle inconsistency issues. I do feel like this is a close fight, but I lean towards Hill due to her striking advantage.
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Terrion Ware, UFC Fight Night 136
A bantamweight bout between Merab Dvalishvili and Terrion Ware has been added to UFC Fight Night 136, which goes down Saturday, September 15 at Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia. Nolan King broke the news first. Dvalishvili (7-4) is coming off of an extremely controversial submission loss to Ricky Simon that could have very well been a decision win if the referee had been someone different. Ware (17-8) has lost all three of his fights in the UFC but he’s put up competitive fights even in his losses and deserves this opportunity to stick around the UFC. I’m just not sure it’s going to go too well for him, as I see Dvalishvili winning.
Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman 2, UFC 230
A middleweight rematch between Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman is targeted for UFC 230, which takes place Saturday, November 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto first reported the bout. Rockhold (16-4) is coming off of a KO loss to Yoel Romero but prior to that beat David Branch into submission and is still one of the best middleweights in the world. Weidman (14-3) is coming off of a submission win over Kelvin Gastelum which snapped a three-fight losing skid. Both guys are great fighters, but we have seen this fight before and Rockhold destroyed Weidman. The rematch may go differently, but based on what we did see the first time these two fought, it’s hard not to side with Rockhold once again.
