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 couple new preliminary spells were added to the card, via ESPN. The new spells are recorded below, together with my first reactions to them, in the modern 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 conclusion losing skid. At 34 he’s begun to age but revealed in the Rainey fight his striking skills are still topnotch. 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 which has been a disappointing followup to his brutal KO win over Randy Brown on the summertime. What a fantastic battle this is involving Means and Price because it is a battle between two guys who can finish the fight on the toes and on the floor. I can see this one going either way, and this may be a surprise to those who’ve been after me for years, but I’d really slightly lean towards Cost here simply because of his age benefit and the fact Means has been in so many wars. The opening line must be shut, but I’d 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 may even meet with this card. Morono (15-5, 1 NC) is 4-2, 1 NC in the UFC and defeated 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 from a split decision win over Dwight Grant. This is a really evenly-matched connection between two guys in the middle of the pack at 170lbs who’ve so far been inconsistent in their UFC careers. I’ve been slightly more impressed with Morono inside the Octagon so I would prefer him just a tad 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 lastly, 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 using a submission win over Mudaerji. All-time Smolka has 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 defeated Naoki Inoue and Marco Beltran in his past two outings. Although Schnell has appeared better lately, Smolka is the talented fighter and is more proven fighting at 135lbs. I’d have to favor Smolka to win this fight, along with the fact it’s not taking place at flyweight is just another indication the division will be shut down this season.
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