UFC Wichita (UFC Fight Night 146) Occurs Saturday, March 9 in Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
The card formerly was shown to be headlined by heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Junior dos Santos, and over the weekend a couple new preliminary spells were added into the card, via ESPN. The new bouts are listed below, together with my first reactions to these, in today’s edition of MMA odds and ends.
Tim Means vs. Niko Price, UFC Fight Night 146
An intriguing welterweight matchup involving Tim Means and Niko Price is set for UFC Fight Night 146. Means (28-10, 1 NC) is 10-7, 1 NC in the UFC and is coming off of a TKO win over Ricky Rainey that snapped a two-fight split conclusion losing skid. At 34 he’s begun to age but revealed from the Rainey fight his remarkable abilities continue to be top notch. Cost (12-2, 1 NC) is 4-2, 1 NC in the UFC and is coming off of a fast TKO loss to Abdul Razak Alhassan that has been a disappointing followup to his barbarous KO win over Randy Brown in the summertime. What a great fight that is between Means and Price because it’s a struggle between two men who can finish the fight on the toes and on the floor. I can see this one going either way, which may be a surprise to people who have been following me for years, but I had actually slightly lean towards Cost here simply because of his age benefit and the fact Means was in numerous wars. The opening line must be close, but I’d probably peg Price as a small favorite in the open.
Alex Morono vs. Zak Ottow, UFC Fight Night 146
Welterweights Alex Morono and Zak Ottow will even meet with this card. Morono (15-5, 1 NC) is 4-2, 1 NC in the UFC and conquered Kenan Song in a”Battle of the Night” functionality his out time. Ottow (17-6) is 4-3 at the UFC and is coming off of a split decision win over Dwight Grant. This is a very evenly-matched bout between two men in the middle of the bunch at 170lbs who’ve so far been inconsistent in their UFC careers. I have been slightly more impressed with Morono inside the Octagon so I would favor him just a bit here, but on paper it’s a close matchup and that I expect the opening line to be close a Select’em.
Louis Smolka vs. Matt Schnell, UFC Fight Night 146
And finally, Louis Smolka and Matt Schnell will move up to bantamweight and compete on this card. Smolka (15-5) lately forced his return to the UFC using a submission win over Mudaerji. All-time Smolka has a 6-5 record in the UFC and is currently riding a four-fight win streak overall in MMA. Schnell (11-4) is 2-2 in the UFC and conquered Naoki Inoue and Marco Beltran in his past two outings. Although Schnell has looked better lately, Smolka is the talented fighter and is proven fighting 135lbs. I’d have to prefer Smolka to win this battle, along with the fact it’s not taking place at flyweight is another indication the branch is going to be shut down this season.
Disclaimer: This page includes affiliate links and MMA Odds Breaker is going to be paid if you make a purchase after clicking on the hyperlinks.
Read more here: http://socceradvantage.com/?p=25721