A few new UFC matchups were booked over the past weekend, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my quick thoughts on them. Ryan Jimmo vs. Sean O’Connell, TUF Nations Finale Following an injury to Steve Bosse, the UFC called upon newcomer Sean O’Connell to fill his spot against Ryan Jimmo at the TUF Nations Finale, and the two will meet in a light heavyweight clash April 16 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. If anything, Jimmo is actually getting a bit of a break here, as Bosse was a hard hitter and we’ve seen Jimmo get finished with strikes before. Although O’Connell also hits hard, he’s likely a bit of an easier matchup for Jimmo and so “The Big Deal” has a better chance now of getting a win and staying employed with the UFC, if you ask me. If you don’t know O’Connell, he’s an MFC veteran who has won six fights in a row, including a decision nod over Marvin Eastman. He’s making his UFC debut here at 30 years of age, so don’t expect some lighting-quick prospect, but he’s facing a flawed fighter in Jimmo and he definitely has the chance to pull off the upset in this spot. As far as a betting line goes, I haven’t seen enough on O’Connell to know exactly how this like will shape out, but just based on what I know Jimmo will be the favorite here, probably around 2-to-1, if not a little higher for this Canada vs. USA matchup. Peter Sobotta vs. Pawel Pawlak, UFC Fight Night Berlin And the other new fight booked is a welterweight bout between Peter Sobotta, who is returning to the Octagon after a four-year absence, and Pawel Pawlak, a Polish prospect who is making his UFC debut. The two will clash at UFC Fight Night 41, which takes place May 31 in Berlin, Germany. You may remember Sobotta from his three-fight UFC stint back in 2009-2010, where he lost three-straight fights to Paul Taylor, James Wilks, and Amir Sadollah. Obviously those are three mediocre fighters in hindsight, but since those losses Sobotta has been undefeated in six-straight bouts and he’s truly earned a second chance in the Octagon. And at only 27 years of age, he still has a chance to make something happen. Pawlak is 25 and is undefeated at 10-0 so far in his career, with nine of those victories coming via stoppage, including two via inverted triangle choke. He seems like a very solid prospect judging from his record, but until I see more fight tape footage on him I couldn’t give an accurate assessment of the young Pole. As far as a betting line goes, I couldn’t even guess for this one as I am unfamiliar with Pawlak, but if I had to guess he will actually open a slight favorite here due to his undefeated record.
