A number of new UFC fights were booked on Monday, and for Tuesday’s MMA Odds and Ends I will give my thoughts on each bout. Edson Barboza vs. Paul Felder, UFC on FOX 16 Due to an injury to Myles Jury, Edson Barboza will now take on short-notice replacement Paul Felder at UFC on FOX 16, which takes place July 25 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. It’s expected to serve as the co-main event of the evening. MMASucka.com reported the matchup. I actually like this fight better, simply because Felder is more of an action fighter than Jury and Barboza, as we know, is all about action. This is a great fight. Both guys are tremendous strikers and the fans will be treated to a very good fight if it stays on the feet. If it goes to the ground you have to give Felder the edge but it probably stays on the feet, and while Barboza is the better technical striker, Felder is extremely dangerous and is the more durable fighter of the pair. So it’s a fight that could play out in many ways. I’m having a hard time with this one because I’m high on both fighters and think they are both tremendous lightweights. Having said that, Barboza is the one with all the UFC experience and Felder is still relatively unknown so I do think the Brazilian will be favored, but it’s a tough fight to call and I could see either man pulling through with the win. Neil Magny vs. Demian Maia, UFC 190 A welterweight bout between veteran Demian Maia and upstart Neil Magny is the lattest addition to UFC 190, which goes down August 1 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This fight will likely be placed on the main pay-per-view card. Magny has won seven-straight fights and absolutely deserves this opportunity. He looks better and better every tim we see him step into the Octagon and with a win over Maia, Magny will be on the short list of welterweight title contenders. As for Maia, he’s won two-straight fights over Ryan LaFlare and Alexander Yakovlev, and he looked good in both fights. He has a ridiculous ground game and is very experienced in the sport. Having said that, he is older and clearly not the fighter he once was, but he’s still a tough out for anyone in the division. Magny may finally get some respect from bettors here, and it will be deserved, but Maia is a tough out for anybody, and I slightly lean towards him to get the win here. Having said that, I expect close odds for this one as it’s a very tough fight to pick. Sara McMann vs. Amanda Nunes, UFC Fight Night 73 A women’s bantamweight contest between Sara McMann and Amanda Nunes is set to take place at UFC Fight Night 73, which takes place August 8 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s expected to take place on the main card. This is an interesting fight, and a tough one to call. McMann, for whatever reason, just hasn’t lived up to the hype. She’s had some solid performances in the UFC, but overall has been a big disappointment. As for Nunes, not much was expected from her when she came over from Invicta, but she gets better and better every time we see here and could, with a few wins, possibly earn a title shot. McMann always gets respect from bettors, but Nunes is on the come-up and I think she can win this fight. If Nunes is a dog, she will be someone to keep an eye on for a bet for sure. Anthony Christodoulou vs. Scott Holtzman, UFC Fight Night 73 And finally, a lightweight bout between Anthony Christodoulou and UFC newcomer Scott Holtzman was also added to UFC Fight Night 73. It will be a part of the preliminary card. This fight could present a good betting opportunity depending, of course, on the odds. As he showed in his knockout loss to Mairbek Taisumov, Christodoulou is simply not a UFC-caliber fighter, while Holtzman is a prized prospect who was formerly the XFC lightweight champion. Holtzman is coming into the UFC with a lot of hype, and while we won’t fight out from this bout if the hype is truly justified, I do expect him to look great in his UFC debut. I am expecting Holtzman to be a pretty big favorite, but I see this is a big mismatch and believe Holtzman will be good parlay material come August.
