A number of new fights for upcoming UFC events were announced over the weekend, and I will list the bouts and give my thoughts on them all in today’s MMA odds and ends.
Petr Yan vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade, UFC Fight Night 136
An exciting bantamweight bout between Petr Yan and Douglas Silva de Andrade will take place at UFC Fight Night 136, which goes down Saturday, September 15 at Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia. Ariel Helwani of ESPN.com broke the news. Yan (9-1) kicked off his UFC career with a TKO win over Teruto Ishihara and is on a four-fight win streak overall. De Andrade (25-2, 1 NC) is 3-2 in the UFC and is coming off of a decision win over Marlon Vera. Both guys are solid fighters but Yan is younger and should be favored here.
Thiago Alves vs. Aleksey Kunchenko, UFC Fight Night 136
Also at UFC Fight Night 136 is an intriguing welterweight bout between Thiago Alves and Aleksey Kunchenko. Karate.ru had the news. Alves (22-12) has been in the UFC for over a decade but has been on a decline as of late as he’s lost three of his last four bouts. Kunchenko (18-0) is undefeated and was the M-1 welterweight champion. Although Alves has been fighting a higher level of competition in the UFC, it’s still hard to ignore Kunchenko’s huge win streak and I think he should be favored to get the win.
Mairbeck Taisumov vs. Desmond Green, UFC Fight Night 136
A lightweight fight between Mairbeck Taisumov and Desmond Green will also go down at UFC Fight Night 136, with Taisumov himself announcing the bout on social media. Taisumov (27-5) is on a five-fight knockout streak in the UFC and if he could get a visa to fight in the U.S. he would be a title contender right now. Green (21-7) is coming off of a win over Gleison Tibau but is just 2-2 overall in the UFC. Although Green is a solid fighter, Taisumov is a knockout artist and I think he’s going to put on another great performance here.
Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Elias Theodorou, UFC Fight Night 137
A middleweight tilt featuring Antonio Carlos Junior and Elias Theodorou is scheduled for UFC Fight Night 137, which takes place Saturday, September 22 at Ginasio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Combate first reported the bout. Junior (10-2, 1 NC) is riding a five-fight win streak at the moment with four of those victories coming via his patented rear-naked choke, including a huge win over Tim Boetsch in his last fight. Theodorou (15-2) is coming off of twostraight wins over Trevor Smith and Dan Kelly. Both guys are on the verge of breaking through as a contender but need a couple more wins to stand out in the crowded UFC middleweight division. Although I think Theodorou is a solid fighter and he probably has the striking advantage in this one, Junior should have a big advantage on the ground in this fight and I have a feeling this one is going to hit the mat. I would have to favor Junior to get the win.
