UFC Wichita (UFC Fight Night 146) takes place Saturday, March 9 at 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 bouts were added to the card, through ESPN. The new bouts are listed below, together with my first reactions to them, in today’s version of MMA odds and ends.
Tim Means vs. Niko Price, UFC Fight Night 146
An exciting 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 from a TKO win over Ricky Rainey that snapped a two-fight split decision losing skid. At 34 he is begun to age but revealed in the Rainey battle his remarkable abilities are still topnotch. Cost (12-2, 1 NC) is 4-2, 1 NC at the UFC and is coming off of a quick TKO loss to Abdul Razak Alhassan which has been a disappointing follow-up to his brutal KO win over Randy Brown in the summer. What a great battle this is involving Means and Price because it’s a battle between two men who will finish the fight on the toes and on the ground. I can see this one going either way, which might be a surprise to people who’ve been following me for years, but I had really slightly lean towards Cost here just because of his age benefit and the reality Means has been in numerous wars. The opening line should be close, but I would probably peg Cost as a small favorite in the open.
Alex Morono vs. Zak Ottow, UFC Fight Night 146
Welterweights Alex Morono and Zak Ottow may also meet on this card. Morono (15-5, 1 NC) is 4-2, 1 NC at the UFC and conquered Kenan Song at a”Battle of the Night” performance 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 careers. I have been slightly more impressed by Morono within the Octagon so I would favor him just a tad here, but on paper it’s a close matchup and I expect 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 with this card. Smolka (15-5) lately made 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 at the UFC and defeated Naoki Inoue and Marco Beltran in his past two outings. Though Schnell has looked better recently, Smolka is the more talented fighter and is proven fighting 135lbs. I would have to prefer Smolka to win this fight, along with the fact it’s not taking place at flyweight is another indication the division is going to be closed down this year.
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