A couple upcoming UFC cards have some important updates to mention, and I’ll give my thoughts in today’s MMA odds and ends.
Joe Duffy vs. Damir Ismagulov Cancelled
A lightweight bout between Joe Duffy and Damir Ismagulov, which was set to take place at UFC Fight Night 142 two weeks from now in Adelaide, Australia, has been scrapped. FloCombat’s Nolan King originally broke this news. Duffy was originally set to fight Ross Pearson in a battle of veterans who like to stand and trade, but both guys unfortunately got injured. It’s unfortunate that Ismagulov, who was set to make his UFC debut on short notice, likely won’t get a chance to fight, but it’s likely the UFC will honor his contract and give him a bout on an early 2019 card instead. As for Duffy and Pearson, perhaps these two will be rescheduled to fight each other next year given that fans were pretty excited for what was looking like a real banger of a matchup on paper.
Rachael Ostovich vs. Paige VanZant in Jeopardy
A women’s strawweight bout between Rachael Ostovich and Paige VanZant is in jeopardy after Ostovich was allegedy the victim of domestic assault that left her with a broken orbital bone. TMZ originally broke the news. Details are still scarce, but from what we have heard out of Hawaii, Ostovich suffered a bad attack and with her fight against PVZ set for January it seems doubtful right now that the bout will continue. Again, we still need to more details about what happened, but as of right now it appears to be a domestic violence incident and we at MMAOB extend our best wishes to Ostovich as she recovers from this terrible incident.
Randy Brown vs. Chance Rencountre, UFC on ESPN+ 1
A welterweight fight between Randy Brown and Chance Rencountre will take place at UFC on ESPN+1, which is set for January 19 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Marc LaMonica of Newsday broke the news. Brown (10-3) is coming off of a terrible KO loss to Niko Price where he was knocked out from top position on the ground. Overall, “Rudeboy” is 4-3 in the UFC but he hasn’t won a fight since besting Mickey Gall over a year ago and desperately needs to get back into the win column if he wants to remain a darkhorse contender in the stacked UFC welterweight division. Rencountre (12-3) is 0-1 so far in the UFC with a decision loss to Belal Muhammad in his Octagon debut. Prior to entering the UFC, Rencountre had won five straight fights, although his level of competition has been notoriously weak throughout his career. Although Brown has been very inconsistent in the UFC thus far, I’d still favor him quite heavily over Rencountre, who I do not believe is a UFC-caliber talent.
