The UFC continued to announce a number of new bouts for its upcoming cards. Here are the brand new matchups, along with my first thoughts on these.
David Teymur vs. Charles Oliveira, UFC Fight Night 144
Lightweights David Teymur and Charles Oliveira will fight at UFC Fight Night 144, occurring 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 last excursion defeated Nik Lentz. He has had trouble getting opponents to fight himas he is super dangerous but not rated from the top-15. Oliveira (25-8, 1 NC) is 13-8, 1 NC from the UFC and is coming from a three-fight win series, including a submission win over Jim Miller in his final struggle. As great as Oliveira is on the floor, this resembles the type of matchup that’s kryptonite for him against a much-better striker in Teymur who also has excellent takedown defense. For that reason, I’d really favor Teymur inside this fight.
Junior Albini vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik, UFC Fight Night 144
Because of an accident to Dmitry Sosnovskiy, Junior Albini will take on short-notice replacement Jarizinho Rozenstruik at UFC Fight Night 144. DWT broke the information. Albini (14-4) is 1-2 at the UFC and lost to Aleksiy Oleinik through Ezekiel choke in his last fight. Rozenstruik (6-0) has won five of his battles with strikes except for his one appearance in RIZIN, which he won a decision in. Most bettors will seem to fade Albini, but it’s difficult to say if this is the right spot to fade him in as Rozenstruik is very unproven against a decent degree of competition.
Rani Yahya vs. Ricky Simon, UFC 234
Bantamweights Rani Yahya and Ricky Simon are set to clash at UFC 234, taking place February 10 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. Combate broke the information. Yahya (26-9, 1 NC) is currently 11-3, 1 NC from the UFC and has won seven of his last eight fights overall. He’s a very underrated fighter and using a win here should land a top-10 opponent. Simon (14-1) is currently 2-0 at the UFC and is riding a seven-fight win series overall. Yahya has all of the expertise but Simon has lots of upside and I would rather go with the 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 at O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. Igor Lazorin broke the information. Alvey (33-11, 1 NC) is 10-6 in the UFC and was 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 last struggle. This should be a true banger of a fight but I need to fade Alvey in this spot and go 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 at UFC Fight Night 147, which takes place March 16 at the O2 Arena in London, England. Ferreira (13-7) is 9-5 overall in the UFC but is coming from a disappointing decision reduction to Ian Heinisch. Breese (11-1) is 4-1 at the UFC and smashed Dan Kelly in his UFC middleweight debut. Ferreira is a good fighter but I don’t trust his brow against a strong puncher like Breese, who I hope to be greatly preferred here in his home nation.
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