Two huge fights were booked for upcoming summer fight cards, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my thoughts on each of them. Matt Brown vs. Nate Diaz, UFC 189 A welterweight bout between Matt Brown and Nate Diaz is the latest addition to the stacked UFC 189 card, which takes place July 11 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to Brown, there’s a good chance this fight opens up the main PPV card. This fight announcement came as a surprise to me because I didn’t expect Diaz to move back to 170lbs. We’ve seen Diaz fight at 170 in the past and the last time he was in the welterweight division, things did not end well for him as he was trounced by Rory MacDonald back at UFC 129. Obviously we know how good MacDonald has become and that loss isn’t so bad in hindsight, but still, Diaz appeared to be way too small for 170 back then and I don’t see why things would change now. I know Diaz is probably in mini-panic mode in his career after getting destroyed by Rafael dos Anjos at UFC on FOX 13 in his last lightweight fight, but still, moving to 170lbs seems highly questionable to me, and I doubt it ends well for him. As for Brown, taking this fight was a no brainer because it’s a high-profile matchup and yet one that he’s very likely to win. Brown’s been on such a role at 170lbs and despite losses to UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler and former champ Johny Hendricks, he’s still one of the top-10 welterweight fighters in the world. A win over Diaz would not put him any closer to the title, but it would give him another big name on his resume, and of course on paper it’s an exciting fight for the fans and we all know Brown is someone who likes to put on a show for the fans. The line for this bout might be more competitive than it should be just because of Diaz’ name, because personally I think Brown is going to roll over Diaz here. I think the size difference is going to be evident in this one and I think Brown is going to really take it to Diaz like RDA did. Todd Duffee vs. Frank Mir, UFC Fight Night 72 A heavyweight matchup between Todd Duffee and Frank Mir has been announced as the main event for UFC Fight Night 72, which is set to take place July 15 at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California. As it’s the main event, the fight is scheduled for five rounds. A fight between two heavyweights with big power and suspect chins is not going five rounds, so this is a waste of a five-round main event, but the fight should at least deliver a nice knockout for the fans. Realistically, either man can win this fight. It’s likely it’s going to stay standing and someone is going to clip the other man early and that’s going to be it — the hard part is deciding who connects with the big strike first. Personally, I’m leaning towards Duffee in this one. I know Mir looked great in his last outing against Antonio Silva, but I still don’t think he’s “back” or anything. Duffee is younger, faster, and more powerful. The odds will be close just because of the nature of the matchup, but I do lean Duffee here, and believe he’ll get the KO win.
