The UFC announced a variety of new bouts over the last few days, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my quick thoughts on all of them. Efrain Escudero vs. Francisco Trinaldo, UFC Fight Night 51 A lightweight bout between former TUF champ Efrain Escudero and Francisco Trinaldo was added to UFC Fight Night 51, which takes place September 13 at Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil. Escudero has been on a roll and deserves to be back in the UFC, but Trinaldo is a beast and matches up well against him. The best chance for Escudero to win will be to outcardio his opponent, but if Trinaldo wins in round one that won’t matter. look for the fight to be competitive than most think, but Trinaldo should be at least 2-to-1 here. Hyun Gyu Lim vs. Takenori Sato, UFC Fight Night 52 A welterweight matchup between Hyun Gyu Lim and Takenori Sato was added to UFC Fight Night 52, which takes place September 20 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. This is a blowout fight on paper and it should play out that way in the cage. Look for Lim to knock Sato out in brutal fashion, and bounce back from his loss to Tarec Saffiedine earlier this year. I’m expecting Lim to be about -700 in this fight, if not higher. Daniel Hooker vs. Maximo Blanco, UFC Fight Night 52 As well, a featherweight bout between Daniel Hooker and Maximo Blanco was added to UFC Fight Night 52, and it’s a fight that could be one of the most violent of the year in MMA. This is a really good fight. Hooker showed in his UFC debut against Ian Entwhistle that he is a true finisher and while Blanco is much more experienced and explosive, he has a ton of holes in his game that Hooker could exploit — not to mention he is always one illegal soccer kick away from being DQed. Blanco should be the slight favorite heading into this fight, but Hooker will be a very live dog here and if he wins the UFC should fast-track him up the ladder. Kiichi Kunimoto vs. Richard Walsh, UFC Fight Night 52 And finally, a welterweight matchup between Kiichi Kunimoto and Richard Walsh was added to UFC Fight Night 52. Both men are coming off of wins in their last bouts and another victory in Japan would help boost both men up the ladder. Walsh is a grinder and grinders win fights but as Kunimoto showed in his submission win over Daniel Sarafian at UFC 174, he is a very dangerous fighter and very underrated. Based on the win over Sarafian it won’t shock me if Kunimoto is the favorite going into this fight, but I have a feeling Walsh is going to grind it out and get the win in Japan.
