A few new UFC bouts have been revealed for upcoming fight cards, including a re-booking of a thrilling bantamweight fight. Below are the newest matchups, along with my first thoughts on them. 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 first supposed to occur in the UFC 233 occasion, was first reported by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. Lineker (31-8) is 12-3 overall from the UFC including a 6-1 mark since moving up fulltime to the bantamweight division. He is coming from back-to-back wins over Brian Kelleher and Marlon Vera, with a reduction 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 consistently been one of the very exciting lighter-weight fighters in the UFC for years and will always be in the hunt for a bonus on any card that he fights on. Sandhagen (10-1) is 3-0 in the UFC and is now on a five-fight win series overall that includes stoppage wins over Iuri Alcantara and Austin Arnett in the Octagon. He’s beginning to resemble a top prospect in 135lbs and has made this matchup against Lineker, even though it won’t be an easy one to acquire by any means since Lineker is a great test for him. I definitely think Sandhagen is a live puppy worth a look as the younger fighter, but Lineker deserves to be the favorite here according to his 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 involving Alexander Yakovlev and Teemu Packalen. The card takes place April 20 at Yubileyny Sports Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. The bout was initially reported by MMABetz. Yakovlev (23-8-1) is just 2-4 overall from the UFC and has not competed since a entry loss to Zak Cummings in November 2016. Before that, Yakovlev lost a decision to Kamaru Usman and it had been presumed by many that he had been retired at this point. Clearly that is not true as he’s booked for a different struggle, however, the fact he’s been off for almost 3 years is clearly concerning. Yakovlev does hold notable wins over Paul Daley and Gray Maynard, but overall he has been very inconsistent in the UFC. Packalen (8-2) is just 1-2 in the UFC and hasn’t fought since a KO loss to Marc Diakese in March 2017. All eight of Packalen’s career wins have come by end, such as a bonus-winning entry over Thibault Gouti from the UFC, but in general he’s been a small letdown from the Octagon. This is a fight between two guys who have been inconsistent at the UFC and who have not fought in forever, so flip a coin . I hope Yakovlev will be a tiny favorite here because the fight is in Russia, but he isn’t really someone you can trust with your money. Disclaimer: This page includes affiliate links and MMA Odds Breaker is going to be paid if you make a purchase after clicking on the links.

A few new UFC bouts are revealed for upcoming fight cards, including a re-booking of an exciting bantamweight fight. Below are the new matchups, together with my first thoughts on them. 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 first supposed to occur at the cancelled UFC 233 occasion, was first reported by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. Lineker (31-8) is 12-3 overall from the UFC including a 6-1 mark because moving up full-time to the bantamweight division. He’s coming off of back-to-back wins over Brian Kelleher and Marlon Vera, with a loss to TJ Dillashaw sandwiching his previous win streak that included him getting his hands raised over John Dodson, Rob Font, Francisco Rivera and Michael McDonald. He has consistently been among 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 3-0 at 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 is starting to look like a top prospect at 135lbs and has earned 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 will be a live dog worth a look as the younger fighter, but Lineker deserves to be the favorite here based on his 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 in Yubileyny Sports Palace at St. Petersburg, Russia. The bout was first reported by MMABetz. Yakovlev (23-8-1) is only 2-4 overall from the UFC and hasn’t competed since a submission loss to Zak Cummings in November 2016. Before that, Yakovlev lost a decision to Kamaru Usman and it was thought by many that he was retired at this time. Clearly that is not true as he’s booked for another fight, however, the fact he has been away for almost three years is clearly concerning. Yakovlev does hold noteworthy wins over Paul Daley and Gray Maynard, but overall he has been very inconsistent at the UFC. Packalen (8-2) is just 1-2 in the UFC and has not 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 entry over Thibault Gouti from the UFC, but in general he has been a bit of a letdown in the Octagon. This is a struggle between two guys who’ve been inconsistent in the UFC and who haven’t fought forever, so flip a coin here. I expect Yakovlev is going to be a small favorite here because the fight is in Russia, but he’s not really someone you can trust with your money. Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links and MMA Odds Breaker is going to be paid if you make a purchase after clicking on the hyperlinks.