UFC Wichita (UFC Fight Night 146) Occurs Saturday, March 9 in 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 few new preliminary bouts were added to the card, through ESPN. The new bouts are listed below, along with my initial reactions to these, in the modern version 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 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 from the Rainey fight his remarkable abilities continue to be top notch. Price (12-2, 1 NC) is currently 4-2, 1 NC in the UFC and is coming from a quick TKO loss to Abdul Razak Alhassan which has been a disappointing follow-up to his brutal KO win over Randy Brown on the summer. What a great fight 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 floor. I can see this one going either way, and this might be a surprise to those who’ve been following me for many years, but I’d actually slightly lean towards Price here just because of his age advantage and the fact Means has been in numerous wars. The opening line must be shut, but I’d probably peg Cost 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 at the UFC and defeated Kenan Song in a“Fight of the Night“ functionality his out time. Ottow (17-6) is 4-3 at the UFC and is coming from a split decision win over Dwight Grant. This is a very evenly-matched connection between two men in the middle of the pack at 170lbs who have so far been inconsistent in their UFC livelihood. I have been somewhat more impressed with Morono within the Octagon so I would favor him just a bit here, but on paper it’s a close matchup and I anticipate the opening line to be near a Select’em.
Louis Smolka vs. Matt Schnell, UFC Fight Night 146
And lastly, Louis Smolka and Matt Schnell will proceed up to bantamweight and compete on this card. Smolka (15-5) lately 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 overall in MMA. Schnell (11-4) is 2-2 at the UFC and conquered Naoki Inoue and Marco Beltran in his past two outings. Though Schnell has looked better lately, Smolka is the more talented fighter and is proven fighting 135lbs. I would have to favor Smolka to win this particular battle, along with the fact it is not occurring at flyweight is another indication the branch will be closed down this year.
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