A trio of new UFC bouts have been revealed for upcoming fall fight cards, and I’ll give my thoughts on these newly-uncovered bouts in today’s MMA odds and ends.
Irene Aldana vs. Lucie Pudilova, UFC 228
There’s a late addition to UFC 228, as a women’s bantamweight contest between Irene Aldana and Lucie Pudilova has been added to the card, which takes place Saturday, September 8 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The bout has been officially confirmed by the UFC. Aldana (8-4) finally picked up her first UFC win in her last outing when she defeated Talita Bernardo by decision after losing decisions to Katlyn Chookagian and Leslie Smith in her first two UFC bouts. She remains a talented fighter albeit a flawed one. Pudilova (8-2) lost to Lina Lansberg in her UFC debut but has since picked up decision nods over Ji Yeon Kim and Sarah Moras. Both women are talented but inconsistent fighters and there’s a good chance this one is decided by the judges, but based on what we’ve seen in the Octagon it’s hard not to slightly favor Pudilova in this bout.
Marcin Prachnio vs. Magomed Ankalaev, UFC Fight Night 136
A light heavyweight matchup between Marcin Prachnio and Magomedov Ankalaev is on tap for UFC Fight Night 136, which goes down Saturday, September 15 at Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia. Nolan King broke the news. Prachnio (13-3) lost his UFC debut to Sam Alvey via KO which snapped an eight-fight win streak. Ankalaev (8-1) was dominating Paul Craig in his UFC debut until tapping out with one second left in the contest to an armbar. The submission defeat to Craig was a bad sign and is a big red flag for Ankalaev going forward, but it’s not like Prachnio was particularly impressive in his UFC debut either. Odds are Ankalaev can get this fight to the ground, and hopefully for his sake this time he doesn’t make a bad mistake. It’s possible Prachnio could land the KO, but even with the Craig loss I expect Ankalaev to be favored here.
Ashkan Mokhtarian vs. Kai Kara France, UFC Fight Night 142
A flyweight contest between Ashkan Mokhtarian and Kai Kara France is being reported for UFC Fight Night 142 by Shawn Bitter. The card is set to take place Saturday, December 1 at Adelaide Entertainment Center in Adelaide, Australia. Mokhtarian (13-3) has lost his first two UFC bouts, coming via KO to Ryan Benoit and by decision to John Moraga. France (17-7, 1 NC) is making his UFC debut after picking up five straigt wins on the regional circuit, and his last loss came in RIZIN. This is a toughie. Mokhtarian has looked pretty bad in the UFC, but he has lost to some decent competition. France has fought a bunch of nobodies and he’s a guy who has been finished a bunch of times earlier in his career. Based on his recent win streak I do expect France to be favored, but Mokhtarian has more to show in the UFC than what we’ve seen so far and I wouldn’t count him out.
