Four new UFC bouts were revealed just into time for the weekend, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll give my thought on each bout. Daniel Omielanczuk vs. Konstantin Erokhin, UFC Fight Night 72 A heavyweight matchup pitting big sluggers Daniel Omielanczuk and Konstantin Erokhin has been added to UFC Fight Night 72, which takes place July 15 at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. Both guys have knockout power, but both guys have really bad cardio. If this fight doesn’t end in someone getting put to sleep in the first round, expect a gas fest for the rest of the fight. Even with an unimpressive UFC debut I have to lean towards Erokhin slightly here, because I think he’s the more powerful striker in a fight that’s likely to stay standing, but it’s hard to trust him after how bad he looked against Viktor Pesta. As for Omielanczuk, if he loses this fight like expected the UFC will surely release him. Jake Matthews vs. Mickael Lebout, UFC Fight Night 72 As well, a lightweight matchup between Jake Matthews and Mickael Lebout was also added to UFC Fight Night 72. Lebout isn’t terrible as he showed in his close decision loss to Sergio Moraes in his UFC debut, but Matthews is still a top prospect despite his recent loss to James Vick and on paper it looks like the UFC made this fight for him to win. Look for Matthews to be the favorite here as he looks to get his career back on track. Jessica Aguilar vs. Claudia Gadelha, UFC 190 A likely women’s strawweight No. 1 contender’s bout has been added to UFC 190, as the event will see Claudia Gadelha take on Jessica Aguilar. UFC 190 takes place August 1 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and there’s a chance this bout sneaks its way onto the main card. This is a great fight. Both women are among the top-five fighters in their division and I fully expect the next title contender to come out of this fight. Gadelha hasn’t fought since a controversial split decision loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk last winter, but she’s a tremendous talent and considering most thought she won that fight, she very well could be champ already by now had she been giving the opportunity to fight Carla Esparza. As for Aguilar, she is highly ranked but has been fighting lesser competition over in World Series of Fighting. She’s definitely good, but just how good is hard to gauge considering she hasn’t been fighting in the UFC or Invicta, but rather WSOF. This is a close fight to call and I could see either woman emerging victorious, but considering the location of the fight I do lean slightly towards Gadelha to pick up the win here, and get the next strawweight title shot. Vitor Miranda vs. Clint Hester, UFC 190 A middleweight clash between Vitor Miranda and Clint Hester was also added to UFC 190. It’s a surprising matchup in a way because Miranda just knocked out Jake Collier while Hester hasn’t fought since a knockout loss to Robert Whittaker, but since both men are strikers the UFC must feel it will be a good fight for the fans stylistically. I like both guys, but I do feel like Hester is a bit more complete. Having said that, with the fight taking place in Brazil I’m not crazy confident in him here, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Miranda won. As for the odds, look for close odds with a slight lean towards Hester, who typically gets more respect than Miranda from bettors.
