The UFC booked three new fights in the past 24 hours, and for Wednesday’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my quick thoughts on each bout. Patrick Holohan vs. Shane Howell, UFC Fight Night 59 A flyweight bout between Patrick Holohan and Shane Howell was added to UFC FIght Night 59, which is set for January 18 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The bout will be a part of the evening’s preliminary card. Holohan looked tremendous in his UFC debut, submitting Josh Sampo in the first round, but he took a huge step backwards against Chris Kelades in his last matchup, and now most are off his bandwagon. He showed poor wrestling and poor conditioning against Kelades, and that could cost him here against Howell, who is a solid wrestler. With that being said, Howell looked awful against Ray Borg in his UFC debut, so it’s hard to have faith in him either, but stylistically he does have the skillset to win this fight. Regardless, I think Holohan opens up as the favorite, as I believe most will look to fade Howell in this spot, although personally I think it’s a dog-or-pass situation. Johnny Case vs. Paul Felder, UFC Fight Night 59 A lightweight matchup between Johnny Case and Paul Felder was also added to UFC Fight Night 59. Case is coming off of a superb UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 52, submitting Kazuki Tokudome in the second round with a guillotine choke and winning a Performance of the Night bonus in the process, while Felder took home a close split decision win over Jason Saggo at UFC Fight Night 54 in his own respective debut. Both of these fighters have a bright future in the sport, and I’m a bit surprised the UFC decided to match these two up so soon, but lightweight is stacked and clearly the promotion’s matchmakers want to see who truly is ready to take the next step and who isn’t. I was impressed by both fighters in their UFC debuts, but I was slightly impressed by Case a little bit more, and I believe he has what it takes to defeat Felder in what should be close to a near Pick ’em fight. Diego Brandao vs. Jimy Hettes, UFC 183 A featherweight fight between TUF 14 winner Diego Brandao and former top prospect Jimy Hettes will take place at UFC 183, which takes place January 31 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout is expected to be part of the Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz undercard. Brandao is one of the most inconsistent featherweights on the UFC roster, but he should have what it takes to beat Hettes, who is looking more and more like a flash in the pan as the years go by. No doubt Hettes has the superior ground game — he has a better BJJ game than almost anyone on the UFC roster — but Brandao has a solid grappling game as well, and his striking is light years better. Brandao should be the favorite here, and although it’s hard to have faith in him, stylistically this is a good matchup for him.
