A number of new UFC bouts were announced over the past 24 hours or so, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my quick thoughts on the new fights. Jeremy Stephens vs. Charles Oliveira, TUF 20 Finale The co-main event of the TUF 20 Finale will be a three-round featherweight bout between Jeremy Stephens and Charles Oliveira. The event takes place December 12 at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the headliner is a five-round title fight for the vacant UFC women’s strawweight title between the two finalists of TUF 20. This is a fun fight and should be a lot of fun when it goes down. It’s essentially a striker vs. grappler matchup with Stephens the striker and Oliveira the grappler, so if it stays standing Stephens should be favored while Oliveira should be favored if it hits the mat. Although Oliveira has that special ability to get the fight on the ground, I believe Stephens will be able to evade the takedown attempts, keep this fight standing, and knock him out on the feet. I expect a close line here but my line is towards Stephens winning the fight. Elias Silverio vs. Rashid Magomedov, UFC Fight Night 58 UFC Fight Night 58 has added three new bouts, and the first is a three-round lightweight bout between Elias Silverio and Rashid Magomedov. The event takes place December 20 at Ginasio Jose Correa in Barueri, Brazil, and the headliner is a five-round middleweight bout between Lyoto Machida and CB Dollaway. This is an excellent fight between two up-and-coming lightweight fighters and I’m looking forward to it. Silverio is a bit more raw, but he’s still a lethal muay Thai expert and his ground game is improving. Magomedov, on the other hand, is more polished, and I’d say more well-rounded to boot. It’s a very close fight, and I could see it going either way, but my slight lean is to Silverio, who has youth on his side and who will be fighting in his home country. Charlie Brenneman vs. Leandro Silva, UFC Fight Night 58 As well, a three-round lightweight bout between Charlie Brenneman and Leandro Silva was added to UFC Fight Night 58. I’m shocked Brenneman is still in the UFC but at least the promotion is giving him a winnable fight here. If he can take Silva down, he absolutely has a chance of grinding him out. However, if it stays standing he’s most likely going to be knocked out in brutal fashion yet again. It’s a tough fight to pick but I do slightly lean towards Silva here because of his huge edge on the feet, although I am expecting a betting line that’s close to even. Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Patrick Cummins, UFC Fight Night 58 And finally, the last addition to UFC Fight Night 58 is a three-round light heavyweight bout between TUF Brazil 3 winner Antonio Carlos Junior and Patrick Cummins. Carlos Junior looked solid in the TUF house and also in the finals, where he beat down Vitor Miranda en route to a decision win. However, I believe Cummins will be a big too much for him to handle because of his wrestling pedigree and size for the division. This is a decent fight based on the rankings but I believe stylistically it favors Cummins and I believe he’ll win the fight. With that being said, I expect him to be a small favorite heading into the bout.
