UFC Wichita (UFC Fight Night 146) takes place Saturday, March 9 in 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 few new preliminary bouts were added into the card, through ESPN. The new spells are recorded below, along with my first 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 from 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 continue to be top notch. Price (12-2, 1 NC) is 4-2, 1 NC at the UFC and is coming from a fast TKO loss to Abdul Razak Alhassan that was a disappointing followup to his brutal KO win over Randy Brown in the summertime. What a great battle this is between Means and Price because it’s a struggle between two men who can 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 people who have been following me for many years, but I’d really slightly lean towards Cost here just because of his age benefit and the reality Means was in numerous wars. The opening line should be shut, but I’d probably peg Cost as a slight favorite at open.
Alex Morono vs. Zak Ottow, UFC Fight Night 146
Welterweights Alex Morono and Zak Ottow may even meet on this card. Morono (15-5, 1 NC) is 4-2, 1 NC at the UFC and defeated Kenan Song at a”Fight 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 connection between two guys in the middle of the bunch at 170lbs who’ve been inconsistent in their UFC livelihood. I’ve been somewhat more impressed by Morono within the Octagon so I would favor him just a bit here, but on paper it’s a close matchup and that 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) lately made his return to the UFC using a submission win over Mudaerji. All-time Smolka includes a 6-5 record in the UFC and is now riding a four-fight win streak complete in MMA. Schnell (11-4) is 2-2 in the UFC and conquered Naoki Inoue and Marco Beltran in his last two outings. Though Schnell has looked better lately, Smolka is the talented fighter and is more proven fighting 135lbs. I would have to prefer Smolka to win this particular battle, and the fact it’s not taking place at flyweight is just another indication the branch is going to be shut down this season.
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