UFC Wichita (UFC Fight Night 146) takes place 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, via ESPN. The new spells are recorded below, together with my first reactions to them, in the modern 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 off of a TKO win over Ricky Rainey that snapped a two-fight split conclusion losing skid. At 34 he is started to age but showed in the Rainey battle his remarkable abilities continue to be top notch. Price (12-2, 1 NC) is 4-2, 1 NC at the UFC and is coming from a quick TKO loss to Abdul Razak Alhassan which was a disappointing follow-up to his brutal KO win over Randy Brown on the summertime. What a great battle this is between Means and Price because it’s a battle between two men who will finish the battle on the feet and on the floor. I can see this one going either way, which might be a surprise to people who’ve been following me for many years, but I’d actually slightly lean towards Cost here just because of his age advantage and the reality Means was in numerous wars. The opening line should be close, but I would probably peg Price as a slight 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 at the UFC and defeated Kenan Song at a”Battle of the Night” performance his out time. Ottow (17-6) is 4-3 in the UFC and is coming off of a split decision win over Dwight Grant. This is a really evenly-matched connection between two men in the middle of the pack at 170lbs who’ve so far been inconsistent in their UFC careers. I’ve been slightly more impressed by Morono within the Octagon so I’d favor him just a tad here, but on paper it’s a close matchup and I anticipate the opening line to be close a Pick’em.
Louis Smolka vs. Matt Schnell, UFC Fight Night 146
And finally, Louis Smolka and Matt Schnell will proceed up to bantamweight and compete on 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 now 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 last two outings. Although Schnell has appeared better lately, Smolka is the talented fighter and is proven fighting at 135lbs. I’d have to prefer Smolka to win this particular fight, and the fact it’s not taking place at flyweight is just another sign the division will be closed down this year.
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