Although UFC 165 took away everyone’s attention from what else was going on in the world of mixed martial arts this weekend, there were still a number of new fights announced in the past few days that I want to highlight here today. Chris Leben vs. Uriah Hall, UFC 168 The first fight I want to mention is a middleweight bout between Chris Leben and Uriah Hall, which takes place at UFC 168. This is a really, really good matchup in my opinion and I really think one of these guys is going to get knocked out and get sent packing from the UFC. I just don’t know which one. My initial thoughts are that Hall should open as a -185 or so favorite in this fight, with the comeback on Leben at about +145, but honestly, it wouldn’t shock me at all if Leben was able to save his UFC career with a surprise KO win over the massively overrated Hall. Jose Maria vs. Dustin Ortiz, UFC Fight Night 32 Next up is a flyweight bout between Jose Maria and UFC newcomer Dustin Ortiz. Maria looked solid for the most part in his UFC debut against John Lineker at UFC 163 and, although Ortiz is pretty highly viewed by those who have seen him fight, I expect this bout to be extremely competitive. Based on the fact he’s fought higher-level competition, I would guess Ortiz opens as a small favorite here, but I wouldn’t count Maria out in this spot at all, especially since it will take place in his home country of Brazil. Omari Akhmedov vs. Thiago Perpetuo, UFC Fight Night 32 Also added to the UFC Fight Night 32 card is a middleweight matchup between Omari Akhmedov and Thiago Perpetuo. This is a solid fight and although I really enjoyed watching Perpetuo on TUF Brazil 1, he hasn’t fought in a very long time and actually, since his last bout at UFC 147, Akhmedov has had three fights and he’s won them all by stoppage. I need to watch tape on Akhmedov but he seems like a solid prospect and the fans should be in for a fun fight when he takes on Prepetuo this winter. Caio Magalhaes vs. Nick Ring, UFC Fight Night 33 And finally, the UFC added a middleweight bout between Caio Magalhaes and Nick Ring to UFC Fight Night 33: Hunt vs. Bigfoot. This is an interesting matchup because, although I do believe Ring is the better fighter of the two, Magalhaes was very impressive against Karlos Vemola in his last bout and he will be the younger fighter in this matchup. It’s close, but I’m guessing Ring opens at around -140 and Magalhaes opens at +110 or so. For me, this is the kind of fight I like to pass as I don’t have a strong lean either way, but I’m definitely fading Ring so if the plus money on the Brazilian gets high enough he may be worth a small stab.
