It was a busy week in fight announcements for the UFC and a few newly-announced bouts slipped through the cracks of the daily Odds and Ends. So for Friday’s edition of the column, I’ll list the fights I missed and give my quick thoughts on them. Joanne Calderwood vs. Maryna Moroz, UFC Fight Night 64 A women’s strawweight bout between Joanne Calderwood and UFC newcomer Maryna Moroz has been added to UFC Fight Night 64, which takes place April 11 at Krakow Arena in Krakow, Poland. Calderwood is one of the top strawweights in the sport yet for the second fight in a row in the UFC has drawn a lesser opponent. I know Moroz is undefeated, but come on, she’s not ready for Calderwood yet. This is going to be another clear-cut win for Calderwood, and once again I expect her to be a heavy favorite. Phillipe Nover vs. Yui Chul Nam, UFC Fight Night 66 A lightweight bout between Phillipe Nover and Yui Chul Name is the latest addition to UFC Fight Night 66, which takes place Nover, who UFC president Dana White once compared to Anderson Silva, is a solid lightweight and is deserving of another shot in the UFC but I really like Nam and as long as he keeps this fight standing he’ll win. Having said that, he’s shown poor takedown defence so if Nover can get him to the mat he could definitely steal a decision or even get a sub. But all things considered I have to lean towards Nam in the matchup. Leo Kuntz vs. Islam Makhachev, UFC 187 A lightweight bout between UFC newcomers Leo Kuntz and Islam Makachev has been added to UFC 187, which is set to take place May 23 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kuntz was a cast member of TUF 16 — a.k.a. the worst season of TUF ever — who didn’t go anywhere on the show, while Makachev is a top prospect from Russia. So yeah, I’ll take the undefeated Russian here, and I expect him to look impressive. Rory MacDonald vs. Robbie Lawler 2, UFC 189 And finally, and this week was obviously a busy week of fight announcements since I didn’t get to this one yet, but the co-main event of UFC 189 will feature a five-round title fight between UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler and top contender Rory MacDonald. The event takes place July 11 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is headlined by UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo vs. arch nemesis Conor McGregor. A full, in-depth opening odds article for this fight will be coming out shortly, but I’ll give my initial thoughts on the fight here. First off, this is obviously a great fight between two extremely talented welterweights. MacDonald has won eight of his last night fights and is 3-0 since losing to Lawler in the pair’s first encounter at UFC 167. As for Lawler, he is 3-1 since defeating MacDonald, having won the title from Johny Hendricks at UFC 181 in a close decision. This is a really, really good fight and I don’t know who wins. I was all over Lawler the first time at +350, but I expect a much closer line this time around. I could actually see MacDonald being the slight favorite in this fight due to the hype, but overall I believe Lawler should be favored slightly to retain his title. But it’s definitely a tough fight to pick.
