NEW UFC BOUTS LINED UP INCLUDING TOM BREESE VS. IAN HEINISCH
The UFC was busy announcing new fights. Below are some of the new upcoming bouts set for spring UFC cards, and my initial thoughts on them.
Michel Prazeres vs. Ismail Naurdiev, UFC Fight Night 145
Due to an injury to Ramazan Emeev, Ismail Naurdiev has taken a short-notice fight against Michel Prazeres at UFC Fight Night 145, taking place February 23 at The O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. MMABrasil broke the information. Prazeres (26-2) is 10-2 at the UFC overall and is riding an eight-fight win series at the moment. He had difficulty making the lightweight limit of 155lbs and since moving up to welterweight has arguably looked even better with 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 vast majority of his wins have come by stoppage. However he’s also fought an extremely low amount of competition and Prazeres is a significant step up. I anticipate Prazeres for a solid favorite here, and he deserves it after the current run he’s went on inside the Octagon.
Enrique Barzola vs. Kevin Aguilar, UFC on ESPN 2 Featherweights Enrique Barzola and Kevin Aguilar are set to match UFC on ESPN two, 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 now riding a four-fight win series with all his wins coming by decision. Barzola’s record is remarkable, but his lack of finishing instincts could hurt him as he progresses up the featherweight ranks. Aguilar (16-1) is coming from a powerful UFC debut when he won a unanimous decision over Rick Glenn, and overall he is riding an eight-fight win streak. His only career loss came from Leonard Garcia back in 2013, but otherwise he’s been perfect in his MMA career. This is a fairly solid matchup between two guys on win stripes but based on his capacity to actually complete a fight I’d have to prefer Aguilar to receive his hands raised.
Tom Breese vs. Ian Heinisch, UFC Fight Night 147
Due to an injury to Cezar Ferreira, Ian Heinisch is stepping up as an injury replacement to carry 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 at 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 streak and is coming from a successful UFC introduction when he defeated the aforementioned Ferreira by decision. His only career defeat came from Markus Perez, who only filed Anthony Hernandez at 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 battle. I would have to favor Breese only based on the fact that the fight is in England, however I expect Heinisch to be very competitive in this matchup and that he could be well worth looking at as a puppy.
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