UFC on ESPN 54 goes down this Saturday night live from Atlantic City, New Jersey and it’s the women who take centre stage. Three women’s fights take place on the card, all of which are highly competitive. Erin Blanchfield meets Manon Fiorot in the main event where the winner is expected to be next in line for a title shot. Loopy Godinez and Virna Jandiroba clash at strawweight and the winner could position themselves well in the title picture and Viktoria Dudakova looks to go 3-0 in the UFC as she meets Brazil’s Melissa Gatto, who wants to snap a two-fight skid.
You can check out our preview of the card on this week’s MMASucka podcast:
Flyweight Main Event – Fiorot via Unanimous Decision
The flyweight main event is one of the most anticipated women’s match-ups in recent times. It’s competitive, features two women who are enjoying winning runs, has an interesting clash of styles and most importantly, is a fight that makes a lot of sense.
Erin Blanchfield burst onto the UFC scene and has quickly amassed a record of 6-0 in the promotion. She defeated a former champion in Jessica Andrade and former title challenger turned PFL contender, Talia Santos last time out. Her grappling is some of the best in the division and more often than not she utilised her strength and skill to get the fight to the ground and work her mauling game. She averages 2.86 takedowns per 15 minutes, however, failed on all 14 of her attempts against Santos last time out. That isn’t to say she’s purely a wrestler, however. She’s active on the feet, landing 5.58 strikes per minute at an accuracy of 52%.
Standing across from Cold Blooded will be a woman with an equally ominous presence. The Beast, Manon Fiorot is also undefeated in the UFC, with a 6-0 record. She too has defeated a former champion in Rose Namajunas last time out and has also defeated three former title challengers in Katyln Cerminara, Jennifer Maia and Mayra Bueno Silva. She’s predominantly a striker, landing 6.05 strikes per minute with an accuracy of 39%. Her takedown defence sits at an impressive 91% and she’s only been grounded once in her UFC tenure. She, like Blanchfield, isn’t one-dimensional, however. She lands an average of 1.36 takedowns per 15 minutes at an average of 39%.
This is a highly competitive match-up and oddsmakers have the American as the slight favourite. With that being said, risk it and go for Fiorot via decision. She likely doesn’t have the power to finish her opponent via TKO/KO and Blanchfield is more than capable on the ground. However, the high-level experience of Fiorot could play in her favour in this one, managing to keep Blanchfield at range with her side-kicks for long enough to get a substantial lead heading into the championship rounds. Whatever happens in this one, expect to be on the edge of your seats throughout.
Ranked Strawweights Clash on the Prelims – Godinez via Unanimous Decision
Headlining the preliminary section of this weekend’s card is a match-up of ranked strawweights as Loopy Godinez and Virna Jandiroba fight to attempt to make a title push.
Jandiroba is currently ranked #5 and is enjoying a two-fight unbeaten run, knocking off Angela Hill and Marina Rodriguez via decision. Her Mexican counterpart is ranked lower at #10, however, has defeated her last four straight opponents.
This one appears to be closely matched in all aspects of the fight. The two women’s fight styles clash well, with Godinez being a wrestling-heavy grinder but having to be careful due to Jandiroba’s ability on the ground.
Godinez certainly has more power and is likely to be the stronger woman in there, however, the experience and high-level competition sits in favour of Jandiroba. With that being said, this could mark a changing of the guard at 115lbs. Go with the Mexican via decision in this one to extend her winning run to five straight.
Three Straight Losses or Three Straight Wins? Over 2.5 Rounds
In the first women’s bout scheduled for UFC’s trip to Atlantic City, Russia’s Viktoria Dudakova will meet Brazillian, Melissa Gatto at flyweight. The fight will mark the first time that Dudakova will make 125lbs after she missed the strawweight limit last time out.
Undefeated at 8-0, the Russian hasn’t quite got the start that she wished for in the UFC, having suffered an injury after her Contender Series win and then having her debut cut short due to an injury to her opponent. With that being said, she got back to somewhat normality as she defeated Jinh Yu Frey via decision last time out.
Gatto has dropped her last two straight, to top contenders Tracy Cortez and Ariane Lipski which is understandable, however, a loss to an up-and-comer like Dudakova could be a big problem for her.
This is a tough one to call. Play it safe, go over 2.5 rounds in this one.
