A number of new UFC bouts were announced over the weekend, including the main event of UFC 231, and I’ll give my thoughts on all of these new matchups in today’s MMA odds and ends.
Stevie Ray vs. Jessin Ayari, UFC Fight Night 138
A lightweight contest between Stevie Ray and Jessin Ayari is the latest addition to UFC Fight Night 138, which takes place Saturday, October 27 at Moncton Events Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. The UFC has made this bout official. Ray (21-8) is 5-3 in the UFC but is coming off of two straight losses. Ayari (16-4) is 1-1 in the UFC and is coming off of a decision loss to Darren Till, and he will be moving down in weight for this fight. Even though Ray hasn’t looked good lately I still have to believe he’ll be favored to win this bout.
Pedro Munhoz vs. Bryan Caraway, TUF 28 Finale
The first fight added to the TUF 28 Finale is a bantamweight bout between Pedro Munhoz and Bryan Caraway. The card takes place Friday, November 30 at Pearl Theatre at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. The LVRJ first reported the bout. Munhoz (16-3, 1 NC) is 6-3, 1 NC in the UFC and is coming off of a dominant win over Brett Johns. Caraway (21-8) is 6-3 in the UFC and is coming off of a decision loss to Cody Stamann. Munhoz is fighting at a higher clip rate now and more often, and I believe he should be favored to win this one.
Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega, UFC 231
The UFC featherweight title fight between champion Max Holloway and challenger Brian Ortega will take place at UFC 231, which is set for Saturday, December 6 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. MMAjunkie.com reported the fight. Holloway (19-3) has a 15-3 record in the UFC and is currently riding a 12-fight win streak. Ortega (14-0, 1 NC) is 6-0, 1 NC in the UFC and is coming off of a KO win over Frankie Edgar. Obviously these guys were supposed to fight back at UFC 226 and we know Holloway had to be removed due to a concussion. Despite that, I still think he has to be the favorite here once again. As good as Ortega is, Holloway is just more proven in the UFC right now and he should be the favorite to defend his title.
Chad Laprise vs. Dhiego Lima, UFC 231
As well, a welterweight bout between Chad Laprise and Dhiego Lima will go down at UFC 231. The UFC has made this fight official. Laprise (13-3) is 6-3 in the UFC but was knocked out by Vicente Luque in his last bout. Lima (12-7) is a poor 1-5 in the UFC and in his last fight he lost a decision to Yushin Okami. Honestly, this matchup is a major head scratcher for me. I still think Laprise can be a top-15 welterweight while Lima probably shouldn’t even be in the UFC at this point. I’ll go with Laprise to get the win in this one and considering it will be near his hometown he should be a big favorite here.
