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Women’s Bantamweights

#12 WBW | Pannie Kianzad (15-6, 4-3 UFC) vs. #11 WBW | Lina Lansberg (10-5, 4-4 UFC)

BETUS ODDS: Kianzad (-425), Lansberg (+320)

Kianzad has taken a long and winding road towards relevance, as at one point, she seemed like she would be a cautionary tale. Entering Invicta Fighting Championships with some hype in 2015, Kianzad earned a title shot after a win over Jessica-Rose Clark—an opportunity that went about as poorly as possible. Kianzad missed weight and put in a worryingly flat performance on route to a second-round loss to Tonya Evinger. “Banzai” was relatively inactive from there, struggling to put the pieces together during her rare appearances. However, things finally seemed to click once again in 2018, at which point she got back in the win column and found her way to the UFC via “The Ultimate Fighter.” There are still some issues with Kianzad’s game, namely her continued struggles against relentless pressure, but she has turned into a well-rounded fringe contender who should continue to rise through the ranks as the division ages. After a loss to Raquel Pennington, Kianzad looks to rebound against Lansberg in a rematch of a 2012 regional bout that also served as the latter’s professional debut. Lansberg had about the toughest assignment possible for her UFC debut—she took on Cristiane Justino in a main event—but she has done well in the years since to be more than a footnote. Lansberg’s game has traditionally been built around the clinch, though she has also improved her wrestling enough to make her a problem in close quarters, even if she has still been overmatched by some of the stronger grinders in the division. That was the case in her last fight, a 2020 loss to Sara McMann. Now 40 years old, it will be interesting to see where Lansberg stands after her two-year layoff due to pregnancy. This does seem like Kianzad’s fight to lose, though Lansberg’s strength in the clinch could present a problem. While Kianzad is not the type of overwhelming athlete that normally shuts Lansberg down, she should be able to hold her own enough that her expected volume advantage—she is a much higher-paced fighter—should be able to cleanly win her rounds. The pick is Kianzad via clear decision.

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