The UFC was busy announcing new fights. Below are some of the newest upcoming bouts set for spring UFC cards, and my first thoughts on them.
Michel Prazeres vs. Ismail Naurdiev, UFC Fight Night 145
Due to an accident to Ramazan Emeev, Ismail Naurdiev has obtained a short-notice struggle against Michel Prazeres in UFC Fight Night 145, occurring February 23 at The O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. MMABrasil broke the news. Prazeres (26-2) is 10-2 in the UFC overall and is riding an eight-fight win streak right now. He had trouble making the lightweight limit of 155lbs and since moving up to welterweight has looked even better with back-to-back wins over Zak Cummings and Bartosz Fabinski. Naurdiev (17-2) is making his UFC debut on the strength of back-to-back knockout wins. He’s experience fighting in ACB, and the majority of his wins have come by stoppage. However he has also fought a very low level of competition and Prazeres is a major step up. I expect Prazeres to be a solid favorite here, and he deserves it after the recent series he’s went on within the Octagon.
Enrique Barzola vs. Kevin Aguilar, UFC on ESPN 2 Featherweights Enrique Barzola and Kevin Aguilar are set to meet UFC on ESPN 2, taking place March 30 in Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The information was broken by mMAWeekly. Barzola (15-3-1) is 5-1 at the UFC and is now riding a four-fight win streak with all his wins coming by choice. Barzola’s record is impressive, but his lack of finishing instincts could damage him as he advances up the featherweight ranks. Aguilar (16-1) is coming from a successful UFC debut when he won a unanimous decision over Rick Glenn, and overall he’s riding an eight-fight win streak. His only career loss came against Leonard Garcia back in 2013, but otherwise he’s been flawless in his MMA career. This is a pretty good matchup between two men on win stripes but according to his ability to actually complete a fight I would have to favor Aguilar to get his hand raised.
Tom Breese vs. Ian Heinisch, UFC Fight Night 147
Because of an injury to Cezar Ferreira, Ian Heinisch is stepping up as an injury replacement to take on Tom Breese at UFC Fight Night 147, taking place March 16 at The O2 Arena in London, England. Breese (11-1) is currently 4-1 in the UFC and is coming off of a TKO win over Dan Kelly in his middleweight debut. Heinisch (12-1) is now riding a four-fight win streak and is coming from a successful UFC debut when he conquered the above Ferreira by choice. His only career defeat came against Markus Perez, who just filed Anthony Hernandez at UFC Fight Night 144. This looks like a very good matchup between two middleweights with prospective name ambitions. The two Breese and Heinisch are very well-rounded fighters and this will be a close battle. I’d have to favor Breese just based on the fact the fight is in England, but I expect Heinisch to be somewhat competitive in this matchup and that he is worth looking at as a puppy.
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