Once again, Chad Mendes has been left without an opponent. As first reported by Sherdog.com, Clay Guida has an injury that has forced him to pull out of his upcoming UFC on FOX 7 matchup against Mendes, which was set to take place April 20 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. It is the third opponent to pull out of fights with Mendes in recent bouts, after Hacran Dias was scratched with an injury at UFC on FX 6 and Manny Gamburyan pulled out of his UFC 157 match with Mendes after he was hurt in training. Mendes (13-1) is one of the top-five featherweights in the world according to the MMA Fighter Rankings. He is an incredible wrestler with KO power, and since losing to UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 142, he’s bounced back with KO wins over Cody McKenzie and Yaotzin Meza to reaffirm his spot as a top featherweight. No clue yet on who will replace Mendes, but it’s possible Frankie Edgar, Cub Swanson, or Dennis Siver takes his spot, although it’s likely if that’s the case Mendes will be shifted to a later card. Formiga vs. Cariaso set for UFC on FX 8 A battle between top-ranked flyweights is set to go down this May in Brazil, as the UFC has added a matchup between Jussier Formiga and Chris Cariaso to the upcoming UFC on FX 8 card. TATAME.com was the first to break news of the bout. Formiga (14-2) is coming off a TKO loss in his UFC debut to top contender John Dodson, while Cariaso (14-4) lost via submission to John Moraga at UFC 155, but both fighters are extremely talented and a win over one another puts them right back into the flyweight title picture. This is a pretty close fight, so expect the MMA odds to be competitive when they are released. I would guess that Formiga would be a small favorite over Cariaso, who, while talented, doesn’t have the hype behind him that Formiga does. UFC Sweden 2 adds Cella vs. Troeng The UFC added a fight between TUF 17 middleweights to the upcoming UFC Sweden 2 card, as Swede Tor Troeng takes on American Adam Cella at the April 6 event scheduled to take place at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm. MMAnytt.se first reported the bout, which will will mark the official UFC debut of both fighters. Troeng (15-4-1) and Cella (4-0) were both eliminated from TUF 17 after being knocked out on the show, Cella’s loss being the brutal spinning hook kick KO by Uriah Hall. With Troeng fighting in front of his hometown crowd and Cella come off one of the worst KOs in recent memory, expect Troeng to open as a solid -200 favorite, while Cella will surely be the underdog, and is definitely someone that you shouldn’t put your money on.
MMA Odds and Ends for Friday: Guida injured, Mendes left without opponent yet again
