The UFC has added two new bouts to the upcoming UFC 184 card, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my thoughts on both matchups. Roan Carneiro vs. Mark Munoz Recent Battlegrounds MMA one-night tournament winner Roan Carneiro re-signed with the UFC this week and in his return to the Octagon he will take on Mark Munoz at UFC 184, which is set for February 28 at Staples Center in Los Angels, California. Munoz was originally set to fight Caio Magalhaes, but the fight was scrapped when Magalhaes pulled out with an injury and the UFC signed Carneiro to take his place. It was only a matter of time before Carneiro was re-signed to the UFC, but this isn’t an easy fight for him in his return. Yes, Munoz is on a big decline, but if you look at who he has lost to — Chris Weidman, Gegard Mousasi, Lyoto Machida — maybe his decline has been overblown. That being said, he has not looked good, but Carneiro doesn’t really possess the knockout threat those fighters had, so I do think Munoz has a chance here. As for Carneiro, he absolutely deserves to be back in the UFC but I really thought it would be at welterweight, not middleweight. Having said that, I do think he can find success at 185lbs given the right matchups, but in this particular fight if Munoz chooses to use his wrestling I think Carneiro could wind up on his back and while he does have solid BJJ, Munoz has a very good top game and his ground and pound is deadly. So, all-in-all, it’s a pretty intriguing fight. I like Carneiro but Munoz should be a decent-sized favorite here, although depending on the line Carneiro may be worth a bet next February as an underdog. Ruan Potts vs. Derrick Lewis Also, a heavyweight bout between Ruan Potts and Derrick Lewis was added to UFC 184. Potts is 0-2 in the UFC with two knockout losses to Soa Palelei and Anthony Hamilton, while Lewis is 2-1 with knockout wins over Guto Inocente and Jack May and a knockout loss to Matt Mitrione. This is a huge mismatch on paper and I don’t see it ending in any way other than Potts waking up to a doctor’s flashlight. No offence to Potts, but it’s pretty clear the South Africa native is not a UFC-caliber fighter, and it’s pretty clear his chin is not able to absorb big shots, and Lewis packs a mean punch. Yes, Lewis was knocked out by Mitrione in his last fight, but Mitrione is a much faster and more powerful striker than Potts, who really only has a decent submission game off of his back and that’s it as far as skills go. I think Lewis is a terrible matchup for Potts and it sure looks like the UFC is giving “The Black Beast” a lay-up fight as they try to court him as a future contender at 265lbs. As far as the line goes, look for Lewis to be somewhere in the -400 to -500 range for this fight, one that he should absolutely win by first-round knockout.
