GLOVER TEIXEIRA VS. ION CUTELABA RE-BOOKED FOR UFC ON ESPN 3
A couple new matchups are shown for upcoming fight cards, and I will give my thoughts on those brand new matchups in today’s MMA odds and ends.
Glover Teixeira vs. Ion Cutelaba, UFC on ESPN 3
A light heavyweight bout between Glover Teixeira and Ion Cutelaba, which was initially set to take place back in UFC Fight Night 143, was rescheduled for UFC on ESPN 3, taking place April 27 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. Combate broke the information. Teixeira (28-7) may be 39-years old now but he revealed age doesn’t mean anything when he completed the younger Karl Roberson in his final departure at UFC Fight Night 143. All-time Teixeira holds a 11-5 record at the Octagon and although he may not be a true title competitor, he is still a tough gatekeeper and the perfect test for rising light heavyweights to take on as they seem to move up the rankings. Even late in his career, he could still complete fights.
Cutelaba (14-3, 1 NC) is 3-2 in the UFC and is coming off of back-to-back knockout wins over Gadzhimurad Antigulov and Henrique da Silva. Only 25, Cutelaba is one of the top youthful light heavyweights in the UFC, but he’s still very much unproven. After viewing Teixeira come back from being down early and finish Roberson, I think you need to prefer him here to get the win against Cutelaba, although I really do think Cutelaba will be more aggressive than Roberson was.
Martin Day vs. Chris Gutierrez, UFC Fight Night 148
Bantamweights Martin Day and Chris Gutierrez are set to meet at UFC Fight Night 148 (UFC on ESPN+ 6), which takes place March 23 in Bridgestone Arena at Nashville, Tennessee. Day (8-3) suffered a split decision loss to Pingyuan Liu in his UFC debut but’d won three straight struggles in the regional circuit prior to making his unfortunate UFC debut. Gutierrez (12-4-1) is coming off of a submission reduction to Raoni Barcelos in his own UFC introduction but had won three straight fights in the regional circuit prior to that too. This looks like a really close fight and I anticipate the opening number to be near a Select’em given how much it looks on paper. I’d slightly lean towards dawn to receive his hands raised, but it’s very near.
Boston Salmon vs. Khalid Taha, UFC 236
Bantamweights Boston Salmon and Khalid Taha will meet UFC 236, taking place April 13 at an undisclosed venue (rumored to be in Las Vegas, Nevada). These two were previously set to meet in the TUF 28 Finale before the fight was scrapped. News of the rebooking stems from Shawn Bitter. Steak (6-1) picked up a decision win over Ricky Turcios about the Contender Series back in July 2017 but hasn’t fought because due to injuries. Taha (12-2) dropped a decision to Nad Narimani in his UFC debut . Given Salmon’s long layoff, it is sensible to slightly lean towards Taha here, however given that Taha is far from a top potential, but don’t be surprised is Salmon comes through and gets the win. I’d anticipate a close line in any event.
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