The UFC continued to announce a number of fresh bouts for its upcoming cards. Here are the brand new matchups, together with my initial thoughts on them.
David Teymur vs. Charles Oliveira, UFC Fight Night 144
Lightweights David Teymur and Charles Oliveira will fight at UFC Fight Night 144, taking place February 2 at Centro de Forma????o Ol??mpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Brazil. Teymur (8-1) is 5-0 in the UFC and in his final outing defeated Nik Lentz. He’s had trouble getting opponents to fight him, as he is super dangerous but not ranked from the top-15. Oliveira (25-8, 1 NC) is 13-8, 1 NC in the UFC and is coming off of a three-fight win streak, including a submission win over Jim Miller in his last struggle. As good as Oliveira is on the ground, this looks like the type of matchup that is kryptonite for him against a much-better striker in Teymur who also has excellent takedown defense. For that reason, I would really favor Teymur in this fight.
Junior Albini vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik, UFC Fight Night 144
Due to an accident to Dmitry Sosnovskiy, Junior Albini will take on short-notice replacement Jarizinho Rozenstruik in UFC Fight Night 144. DWT broke the information. Albini (14-4) is 1-2 in the UFC and dropped to Aleksiy Oleinik via Ezekiel choke in his last fight. Rozenstruik (6-0) has won five of his fights by strikes except for his one look at RIZIN, which he won a decision in. Most bettors will look to fade Albini, but it is difficult to say if this is the right place to fade him as Rozenstruik is quite unproven against a nice level of competition.
Rani Yahya vs. Ricky Simon, UFC 234
Bantamweights Rani Yahya and Ricky Simon are set to clash at UFC 234, occurring February 10 in Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne, Australia. Combate broke the news. Yahya (26-9, 1 NC) is currently 11-3, 1 NC in the UFC and has won seven of his last eight battles complete. He’s a very underrated fighter and using a win here in case land a top-10 opponent. Simon (14-1) is 2-0 in the UFC and is riding a seven-fight win series in general. Yahya has all of the experience but Simon has lots of upside and I’d rather go with the younger fighter in this spot.
Sam Alvey vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov, UFC Fight Night 145
Light heavyweight actions between Sam Alvey and Gadzhimurad Antigulov will take place at UFC Fight Night 145, on February 23 in O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. Igor Lazorin broke the news. Alvey (33-11, 1 NC) is 10-6 in the UFC and was most recently knocked out by Antonio Rogerio Nogueria. Antigulov (20-5) is 2-1 at the UFC but suffered a KO loss to Ion Cutelaba in his final fight. This should be a true banger of a fight but I have to fade Alvey in this spot and proceed with Antigulov, although I’m hoping a close line either way.
Cezar Ferreira vs. Tom Breese, UFC Fight Night 147
Due to an injury to Alessio di Chirico, Cezar Ferreira has stepped up to combat Tom Breese in UFC Fight Night 147, which takes place March 16 in the O2 Arena in London, England. Ferreira (13-7) is 9-5 overall from the UFC but is coming from a disappointing decision loss to Ian Heinisch. Breese (11-1) is 4-1 in the UFC and blasted Dan Kelly in his UFC middleweight debut. Ferreira is a good fighter but I do not trust his chin against a strong puncher like Breese, that I hope to be greatly favored within his home country.
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