The UFC yesterday announced the latest batch of new fight announcements, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my initial thoughts on all of them. Dashon Johnson vs. Jake Matthews, UFC Fight Night 43 A lightweight fight between new UFC fighters Dashon Johnson and Jake Matthews takes place at UFC Fight Night 43 on June 28 in Auckland, New Zealand. Both fighters are undefeated, but neither has fought anyone good outside of Matthews, who lost to Olivier Aubin-Mercier on TUF: Nations. With not enough information on either fighter I won’t even bother predicting an opening line here, but I could see Matthews being he slight favorite due to his time on the show and the expected improvements that come with it. Johnny Bedford vs. Cody Gibson, UFC Fight Night 44 Due to an injury to Rani Yahya, Johnny Bedford will not get his rematch against the Brazilian and instead will take on late replacement Cody GIbson at UFC Fight Night 44, which takes place June 28 in San Antonio, TX. It’s disappointing that Bedford vs. Yahya II isn’t happening, but Gibson is a solid replacement. The youngster looked good in his UFC debut a few months back, while Bedford is a solid bantamweight in his own right and should make for a good test for Gibson. I think this fight is going to be more competitive than people think but look for Bedford to enter as the favorite, perhaps in the 2-to-1 range. Adriano Martins vs. Juan Manuel Puig, TUF 19 Finale A lightweight bout between Adriano Martins and newcomer Juan Manuel Puig was added to the TUF 19 Finale, which is set for July 6 in Las Vegas, NV. Martins is a very solid lightweight who unfortunately was shot up the ladder way too soon by the UFC, being brutally knocked out by Donald Cerrone in his last outing. As for Puig, he’s new to the UFC but clearly matchmaker Joe Silva sees some potential in him and that’s why he’s been given a solid opponent in Martins for his UFC debut. I favor Martins in this fight, and I think he should be a small favorite, but you can’t count out Puig in this spot at all. Akbarh Arreola vs. Tiago dos Santos, UFC on FOX 12 And finally, another bout between UFC newcomers has been scheduled as Akbarh Arreola takes on Tiago dos Santos at UFC on FOX 12, which takes place July 26 in San Jose, CA. Like some of the other fights recently announced, this is a matchup between two fighters that haven’t fought in any big shows in North America (although dos Santos competed in Brazil’s Jungle Fight) and I haven’t seen enough of either fighter to accurately predict what the betting line might be. But based on my preliminary research, I will say this — this fight is likely going to end inside of three rounds.
