A number of new UFC bouts were announced over the last few days and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my quick thoughts on them. Alan Patrick vs. Beneil Dariush, UFC 179 A lightweight bout between Alan Patrick and Beneil Dariush was added to UFC 179, which takes place October 25 at Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Both men are coming off of a win, with Patrick edging out John Makdessi with a close decision at UFC 169 and with Dariush recently submitting Tony Martin in a small upset. Both these guys are pretty decent lightweights and either one could win — it’s a very close fight on paper. Look for a line near a Pick ’em, with a slight edge towards Dariush. Yan Cabral vs. Naoyuki Kotani, UFC 179 In addition to Patrick vs. Dariush, another fight was booked to UFC 179, this time a welterweight match between Yan Cabral and Naoyuki Kotani. Both men are coming off a loss, Cabral a decision loss to Zak Cummins and Kotani and trashing TKO loss to the hands of Norman Parke. I don’t think the UFC sees much of a future for Kotani in the Octago, and I think they want Cabral to get the win here in his home country of Brazil. I believe Cabral, even though he was a bit exposed against Cummings, is still a solid fighter and should be a solid favorite heading into this matchup. Luke Rockhold vs. Michael Bisping, UFC Fight Night 55 The main event of UFC Fight Night 55 was announced this past weekend and it’s a five-round fight between Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping. The card takes place Nov. 8 at Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia, and it should be a great fight when it goes down. While Bisping did look good against Cung Le in his last fight, Rockhold is a horrible matchup for him and should absolutely win this fight. He should be able to use his kicks to keep Bisping at bay and although Bisping is a tough guy, it wouldn’t shock me if Rockhold finds a way to finish him. Rockhold deserves to be a big favorite here, and in my eye it would be a big upset if Bisping won. Jimi Manuwa vs. Shogun Rua, UFC Fight Night 56 And finally, the UFC announced the main event for UFC Fight Night 56, and it’s a five-round light heavyweight bout between Jimi Manuwa and Shogun Rua. The card takes place Nov. 8 at Ginásio Municipal Tancredo Neves in Uberlândia, Brazil, and if more fights like Manuwa vs. Rua are added to it, it’s going to be a very violent night of MMA. Manuwa vs. Rua is a great matchup on paper between two extremely talented strikers. Although Manuwa is a bit fresher in fight years, though, he is older than Rua and he got absolutely destroyed by Alexander Gustafsson in his last fight, while Rua at least looked good against Dan Henderson early on before he got shockingly finished. I like Manuwa, but Shogun is a better mixed martial artist and unless he’s completely shot now he knocks Manuwa out in the first round, in my opinion. I think Shogun deserves to be the favorite here, but it wouldn’t surprise me if money comes in on Manuwa as bettors look to fade Shogun.
