The UFC has been busy announcing new struggles. Following are a few of the newest upcoming bouts set for spring UFC cards, and my initial thoughts on them.
Michel Prazeres vs. Ismail Naurdiev, UFC Fight Night 145
Because of an accident to Ramazan Emeev, Ismail Naurdiev has taken a short-notice struggle against Michel Prazeres at UFC Fight Night 145, occurring February 23 at The O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. MMABrasil broke the information. Prazeres (26-2) is 10-2 in the UFC overall and will be riding an eight-fight win series right now. He had difficulty making the lightweight limit of 155lbs and since moving up to welterweight has arguably looked even better using back-to-back wins over Zak Cummings and Bartosz Fabinski. Naurdiev (17-2) is making his UFC debut on the potency of back-to-back knockout wins. He has experience fighting in ACB, and the majority of his wins have come by stoppage. But he has also fought an extremely low level of rivalry and Prazeres is a significant step up. I anticipate Prazeres to be a good favorite here, and he deserves it after the current series he has went on inside the Octagon.
Enrique Barzola vs. Kevin Aguilar, UFC on ESPN two Featherweights Enrique Barzola and Kevin Aguilar are set to match UFC on ESPN 2, taking place March 30 at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. MMAWeekly broke the information. Barzola (15-3-1) is 5-1 in the UFC and is currently riding a four-fight win series together with all his wins coming from decision. Barzola’s album is impressive, but his lack of completing instincts could hurt 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 is riding an eight-fight win series. His only career loss came against Leonard Garcia back in 2013, but he’s been perfect in his MMA career. This is a pretty good matchup between two men on win streaks but based on his capacity to really finish a struggle 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 in UFC Fight Night 147, taking place March 16 at The O2 Arena in London, England. Breese (11-1) is 4-1 in the UFC and is coming off of a TKO win over Dan Kelly in his middleweight debut. Heinisch (12-1) is currently riding a four-fight win series and is coming off of a successful UFC introduction when he conquered the above Ferreira by decision. His only career defeat came against Markus Perez, who just filed Anthony Hernandez in UFC Fight Night 144. This looks like a very solid matchup between two middleweights with future title aspirations. The two Breese and Heinisch are extremely well-rounded fighters and this is going to be a close fight. I would have to prefer Breese just based on the fact the fight is in England, however I anticipate Heinisch to be somewhat competitive in this matchup and he is worth looking at as a puppy.
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