This Saturday night, not only will UFC Vegas be headlined by a female strawweight bout, but a further three female bouts will also take place. Marina Rodriguez and Amanda Lemos finally clash in the main event, Miranda Maverick returns against Shanna Young, Polyana Viana and Jinh Yu Frey meet at 115lbs and Ramona Pascual searches for her first UFC win when she takes on debutant, Tamires Vidal.
It’s FIGHT WEEK!
Top-ten ranked strawweights Marina Rodriguez and Amanda Lemos headline #UFCVegas64 this Saturday. Who have you got? pic.twitter.com/N4nufhTQTu
— Women's MMA Rankings (@WMMARankings) October 31, 2022
Rodriguez vs. Lemos
The main event is without a doubt the showcase female fight on the UFC Vegas 64 card. Rodriguez is ranked #3 in the strawweight division and with the belt being competed for just next week, she could become the next title challenger with a win here. With that being said, it won’t be an easy task. #7 Lemos stands in her way and will herself be looking to break into the title picture.
Both women are experienced, with a combined record of 28-3 and both women are both coming off the back of wins last time out. Rodriguez is 4-0 in her last four including two main event slots. On this run, she knocked out Amanda Ribas (twice in one fight) and outpointed Yan Xiaonan.
Marina Rodriguez knocking out Amanda Ribas twice in one round #UFCVegas64 pic.twitter.com/b3XXbY5RfF
— MMA mania (@mmamania) October 31, 2022
Lemos bounced back from her loss to former champion, Jessica Andrade with a guillotine submission over Michelle Waterson back in July, which in turn earned her a performance of the night bonus. She is certainly the heavier hitter, recording seven knockouts across 12 wins. Rodriguez has gone to a decision in eight of her last nine bouts, with two draws and a loss.
The important thing for this fight will be how good the winner looks, especially with the champion of the division putting her belt on the line next weekend. The division needs new contenders after Rose Namajunas, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili have traded title opportunities in recent times. The winner of this one will more than likely see themselves in the title picture on Sunday morning.
Maverick vs. Young
Miranda Maverick returns and looks to get her second straight victory after previously falling on hard times. With five UFC bouts already under her belt at just 25, it’s important to remember that she’s still evolving. She’s recorded an impressive seven finishes across 10 wins, including six submissions, one of which came in her last fight against Sabina Mazo.
Shanna Young picked up her first promotional victory last time out when she dominated Gina Mazany on her way to a second-round finish. In this one, she returned to flyweight for the first time in the UFC and looked good at the weight. She was able to defend four of Mazany’s five attempts, which could play a big part in this one. With that being said, these two women were scheduled for UFC 278, however, Young was hospitalised due to weight-cutting issues so Friday’s weigh-in will go a long way to predicting how she will perform on Saturday.
The two women have met before in an exhibition fight back in September 2019 in the Invicta FC Pheonix Series 2. On this occasion, Maverick finished Young via rear naked choke in a little over two and a half minutes. The rematch should be even better.
Polyana Viana vs. Jinh Yu Frey
Both of these women are in search of a victory after dropping their last fight which should make this one a banger. Viana’s two-fight winning run came to an end after she dropped a decision to Tabatha Ricci, whereas Frey lost a narrow split decision to Vanessa Demopolous ending her two-fight unbeaten streak.
Viana has never won a fight via decision, finishing all 12 of her victories. She clearly is talented on the ground with her last five wins all coming via submission, of which four have been via armbar.
Frey hasn’t finished a fight since 2014 and is clearly more of a point fighter than Viana. Don’t be surprised to see Viana get this one to the ground, work a submission and finish the fight within 15 minutes.
Ramona Pascual vs. Tamires Vidal
Opening up Saturday’s card is a bantamweight fight between two women searching for their first UFC victory. Ramona Pascual has featured twice in the famous octagon, however, is yet to have her hand raised. She has twice lost a decision, firstly to Josiane Nunes and last time out to Jocelyne Edwards. In both bouts, her stand-up game has to be questioned. She took a lot of damage across both fights, absorbing 294 total strikes at an average of 8.73 significant strikes per minute. She’s only landed four of 21 attempted takedowns, meaning that she clearly struggles to get the fight where she wants it.
Her opponent, Vidal, is making her UFC debut on Saturday. Having previously fought for LFA, she’s shown well-rounded skills. She finished her last bout via heel hook at LFA 126 and also holds a victory over the PFL 2022 semi-finalist, Martina Jindrova last year. She also holds a victory over the UFC’s, Ailin Perez. Enjoying a five-fight winning run, she’ll look to extend this run on Saturday night.
