MMA Odds and Ends for Thursday: Teixeira/OSP, Van Buren/Wilson Booked

Glover Teixeira A couple fights were announced for upcoming cards during Wednesday’s edition of “UFC Tonight.” Here they are, along with my initial thoughts. Glover Teixeira vs. Ovince St-Preux, UFC Fight Night 74 The main event of UFC Fight Night 74 will be a five-round light heavyweight scrap between top-ranked Glover Teixeira and Ovince St-Preux. The event takes place August 8 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, and other fights will be announced in the coming days and weeks for what should be a solid Fight Night event when it’s all said and done. This is a really good fight, and the right fight for both men at this point in time. In the case of Teixeira, he’s still ranked extremely high in the division but he’s coming off of two-straight wins and he needs to get back on track against another fighter ranked in the top 10, and OSP fits the bill. Teixeira was supposed to fight both Rashad Evans and Alexander Gustafsson this year and both fights were cancelled due to his opponents’ injuries, so cross your fingers OSP doesn’t get hurt. As for OSP, he’ll be fighting in his hometown, which is what he requested. He’s coming off of two-straight wins over Shogun Rua and Patrick Cummins — both by knockout — and has looked much better and more improved every time he steps in the Octagon. With his knockout power and pure athleticism, OSP is a guy who very well could compete for the title in the next little while as the light heavyweight division is wide open now following Jon Jones’ suspension. This is a tough fight to call. OSP has been fighting better than Teixeira as of late, but I do think Teixeira is the better mixed martial artist. So it’s a tough one. I think the line will be very close to a Pick ’em because it’s just a tough fight to call a winner in, although gun to head I’d go with OSP, the younger fighter who is competing in his hometown. Matt Van Buren vs. Jonathan Wilson, UFC Fight Night 74 In addition to Teixeira vs. St-Preux, a light heavyweight bout between Matt Van Buren and Jonathan Wilson was also added to UFC Fight Night 74. Van Buren is one of the lower-ranked light heavyweights in the UFC, and with two-straight losses it’s surprising he’s getting another fight in the UFC, but at least he’s still young and improving his overall game. Having said that, he has a really bad chin and the worst striking defence of any 205lber in the UFC and going up against a guy like Wilson who has stopping power, it’s a tough situation for him. As for Wilson, he’s making his UFC debut here, and while there isn’t much known about him, one look at his Sherdog profile shows he’s a guy with knockout ability. And that could spell big trouble for Van Buren, who can go down with just one shot on the chin. I’ll have to do more research on Wilson, but based on my initial thoughts it’s hard not to pick him as Van Buren is a good fade anytime he fights someone with power. As for the odds, even though Wilson hasn’t fought in the UFC it’s likely he’ll be favored in this one as very few respect Van Buren’s game. The fight could go either way, but it’s almost impossible to put money on Van Buren against anyone with KO power.

Written by Adam Martin.

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