UFC 249 took place this past weekend, and despite the initial controversy of its return in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, it ran with only a couple of small hitches. 

An undercard fight between Uriah Hall and Jacare Souza fell by the wayside after the latter tested positive for COVID-19. Although, at the time of writing, the UFC appears to have been successful in containing the outbreak.

With the first one in the bag, Dana White and his team steam onwards with an increased rate of shows to keep sports starved fans satisfied. UFC Fight Night Smith vs Teixiera takes place on Wednesday, May 16, from Jacksonville Florida.
 

Ben Rothwell (37-12) vs Ovince St. Preux (37-13)

Thursday May 14, 02:30 GMT
 

Two perennial contenders face off in St. Preux’s heavyweight debut. Rothwell recently faced a drug infraction ban, bringing an end to his hot streak of solid wins over decent opposition – since returning, his performances have been meagre albeit for a questionable win over seven-foot tall Stefan Struve. St. Preux has always struggled to put a win streak together, losing many fights he should have dominated, and finishing opponents where there was no expectation of a positive outcome for him.

St. Preux holds the record number of submissions by Von Flue chokes – a rare technique only successfully implemented by one other fighter (Jason Von Flue himself). OSP by submission looks inviting at 15/4). Rothwell has cast iron hands, and likes to throw heavy leather. A knockout win over the much smaller man can be bought at 9/4. Ovince is no slouch in the striking department, and the speed advantage he will hold going into the fight will be more than obvious against the soft-bodied Rothwell. 4/1 for OSP to win by KO/TKO is tempting.

Bout odds: Rothwell 23/20 vs St Preux 7/10
Tip: St. Preux by KO, TKO or DQ 4/1
 

MID-WEEK FIGHT CARD! #UFCJAX pic.twitter.com/EPiyO4zHW2

— UFC (@ufc) May 11, 2020

Anthony Smith (32-14) vs Glover Teixiera (30-7)

Thursday May 14, 03:00 GMT
 

Looking at the records of Smith and Teixiera you might be fooled into thinking that both men are journeymen or average fighters. Using boxing’s yardstick, you’d be hard pushed to find a fighter with 14 losses who is worth more than a tune-up fight for a top level star, but MMA differs significantly. With more ways to lose, and frequent demonstrations of the saying “styles make fights”, it’s not uncommon to find athletes with sub par records at the top of their divisions.

Despite losing two early fights, Teixera went on a long, undefeated streak before finally losing to UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones. His career had started late – not even discovering the sport existed until age 20 – but his tenacity and natural abilities allowed him to achieve quickly in other organisations. By the time of his UFC debut in 2012, he was already 31-years-old, and quickly racked up a series of impressive wins, including ones over former champion Rampage Jackson and future Bellator double champion Ryan Bader. 

Since then he’s suffered a string of losses, including a devastating knockout against Rumble Johnson, and a lacklustre decision against Corey Anderson. The once highly touted prospect looks to be on the tail end of his career, and at age 40 he appears to be closer than ever.

Smith on the other hand made his professional debut at 19, and accumulated a losing record of 5-6 early in his career before finding his feet. A career-long middleweight, Smith was never taken too seriously as a contender, and instead became a staple middle of the pack guy in every major MMA organisation in the USA. It wasn’t until 2016 when Smith gave up his day job and signed with the UFC that he began to receive a little bit of notoriety. Impressive wins over Andrew Sanchez and Hector Lombard led to a chance against Middleweight power puncher Thiago Santos, which ended in a KO loss for Smith. 

Moving up to Lightheavyweight gave “Lionheart” a new lease of life, having gone 4-1 against top ranked opposition, with the sole loss coming as a decision against Champion Jon Jones.  At 31 years old, Anthony Smith looks to be entering his athletic and performance peak.

Punters might not know which way to look here – both hold blackbelts in Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu so a submission is on the cards (Smith at 12/1, Teixeira at 5/1) with Teixeira having the edge. Both both possess dangerous knockout striking (Smith by KO/ TKO or DQ Evens, Teixeira 7/1) with Smith having a more versatile style than Teixeira's boxing-heavy approach. A decision looks unlikely – Smith has only gone the distance four times in 47 fights, and with Teixeira’s age leading to reduced punch resistance, the KO becomes more likely.

Bout odds: Smith 11/20 vs Teixeira 6/4
Tip: Smith by KO, TKO or DQ Evens