A couple new fights in the UFC have been announced, including the co-main event for UFC 229, and I’ll give my thoughts on these bouts in today’s MMA odds and ends.
Andrew Sanchez vs. Markus Perez, UFC Fight Night 135
An injury to Antonio Braga Neto has forced him out of his middleweight bout against Andrew Sanchez at UFC Fight Night 135 and on short notice Markus Perez will step up to fight the TUF winner. The card takes place Saturday, August 25 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska and the UFC has made this bout official. Sanchez (9-4) won TUF 23 and started off his UFC career 2-0 with decision wins over Khalil Rountree and Trevor Smith until running into Anthony Smith and Ryan Janes in his last two bouts and suffering third-round defeats in bout contests. Perez (10-1) lost his UFC debut to Eryk Anders by decision but bounced back with a submission win over James Bochnovic in his last fight. I feel like Perez, the former LFA middleweight champion, is the more dynamic fighter of the two and despite taking the fight on short notice I believe he has the skilset to get the win.
Derrick Lewis vs. Alexander Volkov, UFC 229
A heavyweight bout between top-ranked contenders Derrick Lewis and Alexander Volkov will serve as the co-main event for UFC 229, which goes down Saturday, October 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Brett Okamoto of ESPN reported the bout. Lewis (20-5, 1 NC) is coming off of a decision win over Francis Ngannou in one of the ugliest fights of the year. However, he got the win and overall he’s an impressive 8-1 in his last nine bouts. Volkov (30-6) is undefeated in the UFC with a 4-0 record and in his last fight he knocked out Fabricio Werdum for the biggest win of his career to date. Overall he has won six straight fights and at 29 is in his prime as a heavyweight contender. This is a great matchup and the winner of the bout will inch one step closer towards the heavyweight title. Based on how they looked in their last bouts, it’s easy to side with Volkov here, but you can’t ever count out Lewis with his KO power.
Maycee Barber vs. Maia Stevenson, UFC Fight Night 140
A women’s stawweight bout between top prospect Maycee Barber and Maia Stevenson will take place Saturday, November 10 at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The bout was announced on this week’s episode of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. Barber (5-0) is only 20 and already is in the UFC after a TKO win over Jamie Colleen on the Contender Series. “The Future” is her nickname and the future for Barber in the UFC looks very bright. Stevenson (6-5) suffered a submission loss to Polyana Vieira in her UFC debut but bounced but prior to that had won five straight fights by stoppage. Having said that, she’s 36 now and this looks like a bad matchup for Stevenson. I like Barber a lot as a prospect and the UFC has given her a very winnable fight in her debut.
