MMA Odds and Ends for Thursday: OSP/Cummins Among Newly-Announced Matchups

OvinceStPreux_vice_670 The UFC announced a number of new bouts in the past 24 hours, including a light heavyweight bout that could produce a future title contender. These are the new fights: Marcin Bandel vs. Jason Saggo, UFC Fight Night 64 A lightweight matchup between Poland’s Marcin Bandel and Canadian Jason Saggo is set to take place at UFC Fight Night 64, which is scheduled for April 11 at Krakow Arena in Krakow, Poland. Bandel is a submission specialist but suffered a knockout loss to Mairbeck Taisumov in his UFC debut and needs to gain some respect back. Saggo isn’t the most heralded fighter on the roster, but he went toe-to-toe with Paul Felder in his last fight, which definitely counts for something. If Bandel can lock in the heel hook he could win this fight, but overall I think Saggo is just plain and simply a superior mixed martial artist and I believe he will win this fight. Garreth McLellan vs. Krzysztof Jotko, UFC Fight Night 64 A middleweight matchup between UFC newcomer Garreth McClellan of South Africa and Poland’s Krzysztof Jotko also takes place at UFC Fight Night 64. McClellan is the best fighter in EFC Africa and it’s nice to see him get the opportunity to shine on the big show. From what I have seen from McClellan, he is a pretty impressive fighter and despite being 33 years of age I think he has a lot to offer the UFC. As for Jotko, he’s been solid in the UFC so far, going 2-1 overall, and he’ll have homefield advantage for this fight, but he doesn’t excel in any area of the game and I definitely think the newcomer McClellan is a live dog in this one. Sergio Moraes vs. Peter Sobotta, UFC Fight Night 64 A welterweight bout between Brazilian Sergio Moraes and Germany’s Peter Sobotta will also take place at UFC Fight Night 64. Moraes hasn’t fought since the summer of 2013 when he submitted Neil Magny, while for Sobotta he made a return to the UFC last May, defeating Pawal Pawlak in an upset. This is a tough fight to call, but I do think Moraes is the better fighter and I think he should be able to find the win here, but it’s not an easy one to call. Ovince St-Preux vs. Pat Cummins, UFC On FOX 15 A light heavyweight matchup between Ovince St-Preux and Pat Cummins is the latest addition to UFC On FOX 15, which is set to take place April 18 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It’s expected OSP vs. Cummins will be on the main card. This is a really good fight. OSP is coming off of a brutal knockout Shogun Rua to announce his claim as a top-10 light heavyweight, while Cummins has been nothing short of impressive since losing his UFC debut a year ago to Daniel Cormier. I think in the wrestling should cancel each other out in this fight and I think it stays standing, where I have to give OSP the edge. It’s a close one, but I’ll go with OSP here, and I expect him to be the favorite after gaining some respect for knocking Shogun out.

Written by Adam Martin.

Leave a Reply

UFC 183’s Ian McCall: ‘Lineker swings so hard that takedowns will be easy’

Snapstats: Anderson Silva vs Nick Diaz Statistical Contrast