Preview: UFC on ESPN 60 Prelims

Women's Flyweights

Miranda Maverick (13-5) vs. Dione Barbosa (7-2)
Odds: Maverick (-218), Barbosa (+180)

A late shuffle results in a well-matched bout here. Maverick's had some ups and downs throughout her UFC career, to say the least. Signed at just 22 years of age in 2020, Maverick got an early enough start that she was already a seasoned veteran by the time she hit the Octagon; coming up the ranks as a fairly one-dimensional wrestler, wins over Liana Jojua and Gillian Robertson to kick off her UFC career raised the hopes that Maverick was hitting her stride at just the right time. But that momentum dried up quickly after losses to Maycee Barber and Erin Blanchfield, two other young prospects who were much more focused on imposing their physicality and jumped past Maverick in the ranks as a result. Maverick's won a whole lot more than she's lost in the fights since then, but there's been the sense that she's struggling to figure her game out, leaning on her striking and some patience at times when she'd be much better served going back to her more aggressive and wrestling-focused ways. To her credit, that seems to have finally come back around in her last two fights -- particularly in an extended mauling of Priscila Cachoeira a shade over a year ago - but Maverick still has yet to have the breakout performance to announce that things are truly clicking. In the other corner is late replacement Barbosa, who's feeling her way through much the same process. Five years older than Maverick and with a few years less of professional mixed martial experience, Barbosa's a former judo and grappling standout who has also made her name with a ground-heavy game. Given Barbosa's athleticism and background, she reads as the type of prospect that typically blows through their competition on the regional scene, though that surprisingly hasn't been the case; she's suffered some losses - albeit against a high level of competition that includes some current UFC and Professional Fighters League talent -- and even her wins have typically been control-heavy affairs rather than dominant submission victories. That held true in her UFC debut against fellow newcomer Ernesta Kareckaite this past May, and that lack of finishing ability makes Maverick an easier pick in general; the fact that this fight is strength against strength might make things a bit tricky, but Maverick reads as being much further along in the same process of becoming a well-rounded mixed martial artist. The pick is Maverick via decision.

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