A number of UFC fights were announced this week, and some fell through the cracks for the daily Odds and Ends. Here are the fights I haven’t covered yet this week, along with my initial thoughts on all of them. Lyman Good vs. Andrew Craig, UFC Fight Night 71 Former Bellator champion Lyman Good has signed with the UFC and in his promotional debut will take on Andrew Craig in a welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night 71, which is set for July 15 at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California. Good is filling in on short notice for an injured Edgar Garcia. This is a difficult fight to break down because of the ex-factors, in particular Good coming in on short notice and Craig moving down to welterweight for the first time. My initial lean is to Craig to win this fight because I think he’s the better fighter, but Good is pretty solid and we really have no idea how Craig will react to the weight cut — or if he can even make the weight. I’m expecting very close odds for this fight, but I do think Craig will be slightly favored as he’s the more proven fighter at the UFC level. Felipe Arantes vs. Yves Jabouin, UFC Fight Night 74 Felipe Arantes will drop down to bantamweight when he takes on veteran Yves Jabouin at UFC Fight Night 74, which takes place August 23 at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. At first glance I really like Arantes in this fight. After seeing his brutal knockout loss to Thomas Almeida in his last outing, I feel like Jabouin is on his way out of the UFC while Arantes has been very competitive in all of his fights — even in his losses. Dropping down to 135lbs, I expect Arantes to be better sized for this weight class and I’m expecting good things for him in his new division. I’m expecting the odds to be more competitive than they should be because I expect Jabouin’s win over Mike Easton to get some respect, but I really like Arantes in this fight and will be looking to play him this summer depending on the odds. Paige VanZant vs. Alex Chambers, UFC 191 And finally, a women’s strawweight matchup between Paige VanZant and Alex Chambers will take place at UFC 191, which goes down September 5 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a mismatch in my eyes. VanZant just absolutely destroyed a top-10 strawweight in Felice Herrig and to me Chambers is a big step down. Yes, she did get the submission over Kailan Curran in her last outing, but it came after she was hurt badly in the first two rounds on the feet. Against someone like VanZant with an unlimited gas tank, I don’t think she’s going to gas like Curran did and I think she’ll be able to wear on Chambers and possibly get a finish. With all the hype behind VanZant, look for her to be a huge favorite in this fight as she continues to move up the women’s strawweight ladder.
