UFC Wichita (UFC Fight Night 146) Occurs Saturday, March 9 at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
The card formerly was revealed to be headlined by heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Junior dos Santos, and over the weekend a couple new preliminary spells were added to the card, via ESPN. The new spells are recorded below, together with my first reactions to these, in the modern 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 place for UFC Fight Night 146. Means (28-10, 1 NC) is 10-7, 1 NC from the UFC and is coming from a TKO win over Ricky Rainey that snapped a two-fight split decision losing skid. At 34 he is begun to age but showed in the Rainey battle his remarkable abilities continue to be topnotch. Cost (12-2, 1 NC) is 4-2, 1 NC in the UFC and is coming off of a quick TKO loss to Abdul Razak Alhassan that was a disappointing follow-up to his brutal KO win over Randy Brown on the summertime. What a great fight that is involving Means and Price because it is a battle between two men who will finish the fight on the feet and on the ground. I can see this one going either way, which may be a surprise to people who’ve been after me for many years, but I had really slightly lean towards Price here just because of his age advantage and the reality Means has been in numerous wars. The opening line must be shut, but I’d probably peg Price as a small favorite at 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 at the UFC and conquered Kenan Song in a”Battle of the Night” functionality his last time out. 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 guys in the middle of the bunch at 170lbs who have been inconsistent in their UFC livelihood. I have been slightly more impressed by Morono inside the Octagon so I’d prefer him just a tad here, but on paper it’s a close matchup and I anticipate the opening line to be near a Pick’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) recently forced his return to the UFC with a submission win over Mudaerji. All-time Smolka includes a 6-5 record in the UFC and is now riding a four-fight win streak complete in MMA. Schnell (11-4) is 2-2 at the UFC and defeated Naoki Inoue and Marco Beltran in his last two outings. Though Schnell has looked better lately, Smolka is the talented fighter and is proven fighting 135lbs. I would have to prefer Smolka to win this particular battle, and the fact it is not occurring at flyweight is another indication the division is going to be shut down this year.
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