Three new fights were announced for upcoming fight cards, and for today’s MMA Odds and Ends I’ll list the new bouts and give my thoughts on each of them. Mickael Lebout vs. Teemu Packalen, UFC Fight Night 72 Due to an injury to Jake Matthews, Frenchman Mickael Lebout will now take on Fin Teemu Packalen at UFC Fight Night 72, which goes down July 18 at SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. The bout will take place on the preliminary card. Lebout didn’t show much in his UFC debut against Taylor Lapilus, but Lapilus as we’ve come to see is a very solid fighter, so it’s not fair to completely write him off just yet. Packalen, on the other hand, is an undefeated prospect fighting out of Finland and all of his wins are by stoppage. He’s taking this fight on short notice, but it appears to be a winnable fight for him against a limited fighter in Lebout. I’m expecting close odds for this one, but if I had to pick a winner I’d side with Packalen, even with the short notice factored in. Zak Cummings vs. Dominique Steele, UFC on FOX 15 An injury to Antonio Braga Neto has forced him out of his welterweight bout against Zak Cummings at UFC on FOX 15 and UFC newcomer Dominique Steele has filled in on short notice, as the bout takes place July 25 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Cummings is a really solid fighter but he’s coming off of a year-long layoff since his submission loss to Gunnar Nelson. Steele is a solid prospect who has earned his shot in the UFC, but he hasn’t been fighting high-level competition to get here, and when he has in the past, he’s mostly lost. I think Cummings is a better fighter, and with a full camp I fully expect him to be the favorite heading into this fight. Naoyuki Kotani vs. Kajan Johnson, UFC Fight Night 76 A lightweight matchup between Naoyuki Kotani and Kajan Johnson will go down at UFC Fight Night 76, which takes place September 27 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Kind of a strange fight if you ask me. Johnson is coming off of a win while Kotani has lost both of his fights in the UFC so it’s kind of weird the UFC would match these two up. Clearly the matchmakers don’t rate either guy very highly, as the loser of this fight is likely to get cut. I think Kotani is a better submission artist, but Johnson is the better overall fighter. It wouldn’t surprise me if either fighter won, but I do think Johnson is a bit better and would lean him slightly, although there’s no way I would ever bet on either of these guys.
