Two huge fights were announced by the UFC on Monday, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my thoughts on both bouts. Glover Teixeira vs. Alexander Gustafsson, UFC Fight Night 69 The main event of UFC Fight Night 69 will be a five-round fight between top light heavyweight contenders Alexander Gustafsson and Glover Teixeira. The card takes place June 20 at O2 World in Berlin, Germany, and the winner of this fight will be in contention for another crack at UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. This is obviously a great fight between two top 205lbers, and with both men coming off of losses I’m expecting a fantastic bout here with both men motivated to get back into title contention following lackluster performances in their last respective bouts. For Gustafsson, he was shockingly KOed in brutal fashion by Anthony Johnson at UFC on FOX 14, losing his title shot in the process. Despite the loss to Johnson, though, Gustafsson still remains a huge threat for the light heavyweight title, and he’s still a big chip for the UFC in Europe, so no doubt the promotion is banking on him to get this victory. It won’t come easy, though, as Teixeira — even coming off of two-straight losses to Jones and Phil Davis — is still an extremely dangerous opponent for anyone in the light heavyweight division, and with the Brazilian coming off of back-to-back losses, you know he’ll be bringing his best against Gustafsson as he looks to avoid the dreaded three-fight losing streak. This is going to be a good fight, and it’s not an easy one to call by any means, but it’s tough not to picture Gustafsson as the favorite here. Even with the loss to Johnson, Gustafsson still holds several key advantages over Teixeira in this fight, namely in the youth and reach departments, and so I expect him to be the favorite here, anywhere from in between 2-to-1 and 3-to-1. Having said that, you can’t count Teixeira out completely, so tread cautiously here when the fights come around this June. Tony Ferguson vs. Josh Thomson, UFC Fight Night San Diego A lightweight matchup between rising star Tony Ferguson and perennial contender Josh Thomson is the first fight announced for UFC Fight Night San Diego, which takes place July 15 at Valley View Casino Centre in the Californian locale. It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it’s very likely this fight is the co-main event for this Fight Night card, which hasn’t been given a number yet. This is a great fight that makes a lot of sense for both men, and the only question is does it actually take place as we’ve seen Thomson pull out of multiple fights in the past. Provided it does actually go down, I’m expecting nothing but a war between a guy who is looking to break into the top 10 in Ferguson and a guy who is trying to keep his top-10 spot in Thomson. Thomson is a tremendous talent and I have a lot of respect for him, but it’s hard not to like Ferguson here given what he’s done lately. The guy has just looked amazing as of late, and coming into this fight off of a five-straight win streak, there’s no doubt he’ll be looking to extend that winning streak with a victory over “The Punk,” who is coming off of two-straight losses. Usually you don’t see matchmaking like this, but in this particular instance I think it makes sense, and I think the fans are going to be treated to a great fight. As for the line, it’s hard to see Ferguson not being favored. The guy is just on a ridiculous hot streak right now and while Thomson is no doubt dangerous, so is Ferguson, and I think he deserves to be a strong 2-to-1 favorite heading into this fight against the former Strikeforce lightweight champion.
