UFC Fight Night 138 Primer: Hey, There Are Actually a Few Good Fights On This Card

ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 29: Volkan Oezdemir of Switzerland reacts to defeating Jimmy Manua in their Light Heavyweight bout at UFC 214 at Honda Center on July 29, 2017 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Aside from the fact that this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 138 takes place in Moncton, Canada – which may be a place as real as Middle Earth, I don’t know – the card actually has a few good fights on it.

And by good, I mean they’re gonna be violent. Real violent.

The main event features Volkan Oezdemir against Anthony Smith. If you’ll recall, Oezdemir just challenged champ Daniel Cormier for the light-heavyweight belt, and though he got his butt kicked, he’s still an elite member of the division.

Smith has been taking out some old name fighters pretty brutally lately – dudes like Hector Lombard, Rashad Evans and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Sure, those cats are old and spent, but Smith needed less than two and a half minutes total to destroy both Evans and Shogun.

That’s a fun main event. Also fun: the co-main event, which pits Artem Lobov against Michael Johnson.

Johnson is actually filling in for Zubaira Tukhugov, who jumped into the cage at UFC 229 and socked Conor McGregor in a postfight melee. Obviously, Tukhugov is in the doghouse, but damn if Johnson isn’t a better, more compelling match-up. Since both Lobov and Johnson are strikers, this one has got “punchfest” written all over it.

The rest of the card has names like Gian Villante, Pat Cummins and Court McGee. None of these dudes are world-beaters, but they are most certainly bangers.

Wherever this Moncton place is, they’re getting a pretty violent card.

Jim Genia