The UFC announced a number of new bouts for upcoming fight cards in the last 24 hours or so, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my quick take on all of them. Estevan Payan vs. Mike Brown, UFC on FOX 11 The first new fight announced is actually a replacement bout, as Sean Soriano is injured and out of his UFC on FOX 11 bout against Estevan Payan and now Mike Brown will fight Payan. Even though he’s taking the fight on short notice and even though he’s one of the oldest fighters in the UFC and coming off a KO loss, I still like Brown to win this matchup. I don’t think he’ll be a massive favorite here as Payan is a dangerous fighter in his own right, but 2-to-1 feels about right to me. Eddie Wineland vs. Johnny Eduardo, UFC Fight Night 40 UFC Fight Night 40 has a new bantamweight bout as Eddie Wineland will face Johnny Eduardo in what seems like a squash match. I’m not exactly sure why the UFC keeps giving Wineland easy paydays, but they must really like him or something. Look for Wineland to be about -500 for this fight against Eduardo. Daron Cruickshank vs. Erik Koch, UFC Fight Night 40 As well, a lightweight bout between Daron Cruickshank and Erik Koch was added to UFC Fight Night 40. This fight between fellow strikers should be a hell of a lot of fun, and I expect it to be in contention for Fight of the Night at the UFC Cincinnati card when it’s all said and done. It’s a good fight and either guy can win but Koch should be the favorite here, perhaps in the -185 range. But again, both guys have been pretty impressive as of late and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if either guy won. TJ Dillashaw vs. Takeya Mizugaki, UFC 173 UFC 173 just got a whole lot better with the addition of a bantamweight scrap between TJ Dillasahw and Takeya Mizugaki. In a UFC bantamweight division that lacks contenders, look for the winner of this bout to get a title shot in the near future. I like both fighters but based on the styles this is Dillashaw’s fight to lose. He should be able to keep the fight standing and even though Mizugaki is an excellent boxer, Dillashaw is a bit more well rounded on the feet and I feel like he should be able to take the decision here. Look for Dillashaw to be around -220 or so for this fight. Al Iaquinta vs. Mitch Clarke, UFC 173 And finally, the UFC added a lightweight bout between Al Iaquinta and Mitch Clarke to UFC 173. It’s a mismatch of a matchup on paper, and it will likely play out that way in the cage this May as well. I think Iaquinta should be a big favorite here, perhaps in the -400 range or possibly even higher. I just really don’t see what Clarke does that’s better than Iaquinta, so unless “Raging” has a letdown performance he should take this handily.
