A couple new UFC bouts are shown for upcoming fight cards, including a re-booking of a thrilling bantamweight fight. Below are the new matchups, along with my very first thoughts on these.
John Lineker vs. Cory Sandhagen, UFC on ESPN 3
The UFC has re-booked a bantamweight bout between John Lineker and Cory Sandhagen for UFC on ESPN 3, which takes place April 27 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The bout, which was initially supposed to occur in the cancelled UFC 233 occasion, was first reported by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. Lineker (31-8) is 12-3 overall in the UFC including a 6-1 mark because moving up fulltime to the bantamweight division. He is coming off of back-to-back wins over Brian Kelleher and Marlon Vera, with a loss to TJ Dillashaw sandwiching his past win streak that included him getting his hand raised over John Dodson, Rob Font, Francisco Rivera and Michael McDonald. He’s always been one of the most exciting lighter-weight fighters in the UFC for decades and will always be in the hunt for a bonus on any card he fights on.
Sandhagen (10-1) is currently 3-0 in the UFC and is now on a five-fight win series overall that comprises stoppage wins over Iuri Alcantara and Austin Arnett from the Octagon. He’s beginning to resemble a top prospect at 135lbs and has made this matchup against Lineker, even though it will not be an easy one to win by any means since Lineker is a great test for him. I definitely think Sandhagen is a live dog worth a look as the younger fighter, but Lineker deserves to be the favorite here based on his own body of work in the UFC.
Alexander Yakovlev vs. Teemu Packalen, UFC Fight Night 149
Also announced was a lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night 149 between Alexander Yakovlev and Teemu Packalen. The card takes place April 20 at Yubileyny Sports Palace at St. Petersburg, Russia. The bout was initially reported by MMABetz. Yakovlev (23-8-1) is just 2-4 overall in the UFC and hasn’t competed since a entry reduction to Zak Cummings in November 2016. Before that, Yakovlev lost a decision to Kamaru Usman also it was thought by many that he had been murdered at this point. Certainly that isn’t the case as he’s booked for a different struggle, but the fact he has been off for nearly three years is obviously concerning. Yakovlev does hold noteworthy wins over Paul Daley and Gray Maynard, but he has been very inconsistent at the UFC.
Packalen (8-2) is just 1-2 in the UFC and hasn’t fought as a KO loss to Marc Diakese in March 2017. All eight of Packalen’s career wins have come by finish, including a bonus-winning submission over Thibault Gouti in the UFC, but generally he has been a bit of a letdown from the Octagon. This is a fight between two guys who have been inconsistent in the UFC and who have not fought forever, so flip a coin here. I expect Yakovlev will be a small favorite here because the fight is in Russia, but he isn’t really someone you can trust with your cash.
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