A few new UFC matchups were announced over the weekend, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my quick thoughts on them. Alex White vs. Lucas Martins, UFC Fight Night 45 Due to an injury to Jim Alers, Alex White has been called upon to take on Lucas Martins in a featherweight bout at UFC Fight Night 45, which takes place July 16 at Revel Casino in Atlantic City, NJ. White was very impressive in his UFC debut, knocking out Estevan Payan, while Martins hasn’t fought in a very long time due to injuries and bouncing between weight classes. Although Martins is a solid striker, his chin is a question mark and even though White is taking this bout on short notice I slightly lean in his favor for the win. However, I do think Martins will be the favorite in the betting odds like he always is. Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Juliana de Lima Carneiro, UFC on FOX 12 A women’s strawweight bout between newcomers Juliana de Lima Carneiro and Joanna Jedrzejczyk has been added to UFC on FOX 12, which takes place July 26 at SAP Center in San Jose, CA. I don’t know much about either fighter although I have seen Carneiro fight before in Invicta, where she lost her only fight in that promotion. That being said, she was supposed to be on the new season of TUF and would have been if not for a language barrier, so she’s definitely talented, but at first glance Jedrzejczyk is talented too. A tough fight to call unless you really do your research. Matt Hobar vs. Aaron Phillips, UFC Fight Night 49 A bantamweight bout between Matt Hobar and Aaron Phillips has been added to UFC Fight Night 49, which takes place August 23 at BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Phillips made his UFC debut at 145 against Sam Sicilia and while he did show off some skills, he was outpointed en route to a decision loss. Hobar, meanwhile, was dominated by Pedro Munhoz in his UFC debut and needs to get on track here badly. This is a pretty competitive fight but I slightly lean towards Hobar here, although I do think the odds for the bout will be close to a Pick ’em. Lukasz Sajewski vs. Leonardo Santos, UFC Fight Night 51 A lightweight clash between UFC newcomer Lukasz Sajewski and TUF Brazil 2 winner Leonardo Santos has been added to UFC Fight Night 51, which takes place September 13 in Brasilia, Brazil. Sajewski is a top prospect but Santos is a stud himself and will have the hometown advantage here. That being said, Lukasz Sajewski’s teammate Piotr Hallmann made his UFC debut in Brazil last year and won, so anything is possible. Santos doesn’t get too much respect so I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pole is the favorite here despite the hometown disadvantage.
