A slew of new bouts were announced by the UFC for upcoming fight cards and I’ll give my thoughts on all of them in today’s MMA odds and ends.
Shane Burgos vs. Kurt Holobaugh, UFC 230
A pair of featherweights meet at UFC 230 when Shane Burgos fights Kurt Holobaugh. The card takes place Saturday, November 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Newsday had the report. Burgos (10-1) won his first three fights in the UFC before getting knocked out by Calvin Kattar in his last fight. Holobaugh (17-5, 1 NC) is coming off of a brutal KO loss to Raoni Barcelos but had been on a win streak prior to that. Both guys are solid fighers coming off of TKO losses but I have to favor Burgos as I believe he’s the more talented fighter.
Julio Arce vs. Sheymon Moraes, UFC 230
Featherweights Julio Arce and Sheymon Moraes will also meet at UFC 230 according to that same report. Arce (15-2) is riding a seven-fight win streak and is 2-0 in the UFC so far. Moraes (10-2) is 1-1 in the UFC himself. Moraes did look good in his last fight but Arce has looked incredible in the UFC and I believe he’s a future title contender. Expect Arce to be a solid favorite here.
Tim Means vs. Ricky Rainey, TUF 28 Finale
An exciting welterweight bout between Tim Means and Ricky Rainey will take place at the TUF 28 Finale on Friday, November 30 at Pearl Theatre at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. Means confirmed the bout on his social media. Means (27-10-1, 1 NC) is coming off of a pair of split decision losses to Sergio Moraes and Belal Muhammad. Rainey (13-5), meanwhile, was knocked out by Muslim Salikhov in his UFC debut. Both guys are on a skid but I still believe Means is the more talented figher and he should win.
Junior dos Santos vs. Tai Tuivasa, UFC Fight Night 142
The main event for UFC Fight Night 142, which goes down Saturday, December 1 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, Australia, will be a five-round heavyweight bout between Junior dos Santos and Tai Tuivasa. Combate reported the bout. JDS (19-5) is coming off of a decision win over Blagoy Ivanov that showed he still has plenty left in the tank following his long layoff. Tuivasa (8-0) is 3-0 in the UFC and is coming off of a decision win over Andrei Arlovski but he did show some holes in his game in that bout. Tuivasa is a great prospect but JDS is a former champ for a reason and I like him to get the win here.
Hakeem Dawodu vs. Kyle Bochniak, UFC 231
A featherweight bout between Hakeem Dawodu and Kyle Bochniak will take place at UFC 231, which is set for Saturday, December 8 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This bout is official as per the UFC. Dawodu (8-1-1) followed up his stoppage loss to Danny Henry in his UFC debut with a decision win over Austin Arnett in his lsat bout. Bochniak (8-3) is just 2-3 in the UFC but he’s coming off of a very game performance in a decision loss to Zabit Magomedsharipov. This is a tough one to call because I think Bochniak could very well pull off the upset, but having said that I expect Dawodu to be favored.
