UFC Wichita (UFC Fight Night 146) Occurs Saturday, March 9 in Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
The card previously was revealed to be headlined by heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Junior dos Santos, and over the weekend a few new preliminary spells were added into the card, through ESPN. The new bouts are listed below, together with my initial reactions to them, in today’s edition of MMA odds and ends.
Tim Means vs. Niko Price, UFC Fight Night 146
An intriguing welterweight matchup between Tim Means and Niko Price is place for UFC Fight Night 146. Means (28-10, 1 NC) is 10-7, 1 NC in the UFC and is coming from a TKO win over Ricky Rainey that snapped a two-fight split conclusion losing skid. At 34 he is begun to age but revealed in the Rainey fight his striking skills 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 on the summertime. What a fantastic battle that is between Means and Price because it is a struggle between two guys who will finish the battle on the feet and on the floor. I can see this one going either way, and this might be a surprise to people who have been after me for many years, but I’d really slightly lean towards Cost here just because of his age benefit and the reality Means was in so many wars. The opening line must be shut, but I’d probably peg Cost as a slight favorite at open.
Alex Morono vs. Zak Ottow, UFC Fight Night 146
Welterweights Alex Morono and Zak Ottow may even meet on this card. Morono (15-5, 1 NC) is 4-2, 1 NC at the UFC and conquered Kenan Song at a”Fight of the Night” functionality his last time out. Ottow (17-6) is 4-3 in 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 pack at 170lbs who have been inconsistent in their UFC careers. I have been slightly more impressed by 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 with this card. Smolka (15-5) recently made his return to the UFC using a submission win over Mudaerji. All-time Smolka includes a 6-5 record from the UFC and is currently 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 past two outings. Although Schnell has looked better lately, Smolka is the more talented fighter and is proven fighting 135lbs. I’d have to favor Smolka to win this fight, and the fact it’s not occurring at flyweight is another indication the branch is going to be shut down this year.
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