A pair of new UFC bouts will take place in the coming months. Here they are, along with my initial thoughts on both. Chris Dempsey vs. Jonathan Wilson, UFC Fight Night 73 Due to an injury to Matt Van Buren, Chris Dempsey will move up a weight class on short notice to take on light heavyweight prospect Jonathan Wilson at UFC Fight Night 73, which goes down August 8 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. This is a strange move by Dempsey, who recently defeated Eddie Gordon in the middleweight division for his first UFC victory after being brutally knocked out by Ilir Latifi prior to that. I understand him taking a fight on short notice, but to take it at light heavyweight is a curious move, and may come back to haunt him. As for Wilson, this is his first fight in the UFC so it’s hard to say what to expect from him, but overall I do think he’s a solid prospect and could have success in this fight. I view this fight as a Pick ’em-type contest with a slight lean towards the prospect Wilson since I don’t really believe in Dempsey as a fighter, but I wouldn’t be surprised if either guy won. Nazareno Malegarie vs. Joaquim Silva, UFC 191 A battle of lightweight newcomers will take place at UFC 191, as Nazareno Malegarie takes on Joaquim Silva at UFC 191, which goes down September 5 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Both men were cast members of TUF Brazil 4, but both were eliminated in the semifinal round. Fans may remember Malegarie from his Bellator run a few years back, while Silva has mostly competed on the Brazilian regional circuit. Malegarie has fought a better level of competition and overall I do believe he is a better fighter, however these TUF Brazil fights are often hard to call given the improvements the fighters make, so maybe Silva will perform better than we think. Having said that, Malegarie is the bigger name so he’s going to be favored going into this one, but like I said, I don’t feel like this is a blowout fight so if Silva is a big dog he could be worth taking a stab on.
