Preview: DWCS Season 3, Episode 7

Marilia Santos vs. Lucrezia Ria

Santos enters the DWCS cage sporting a 10-2 professional record and on the heels of back-to-back victories. One of her two losses came to current UFC title challenger Weili Zhang -- a fight in which she performed quite well before she gassed at the midpoint. The Brazilian is a well-rounded fighter. She likes to pressure her opponents and bully them with her supreme physicality. She has fast hands, works behind a crisp jab and throws combinations. She generates a lot of power by setting her feet on her punches, with her straight right hand being her best strike. She mixes her attacks by working the body and adding in chopping leg kicks. She does her best work when she moves forward and plays the bull rather than the matador. The strawweight turned flyweight is talented on the ground. The 26-year-old closes the distance and gets her takedowns with body locks. “Chocolate” has ferocious ground-and-pound and is an accomplished grappler. On top, she looks for submissions; on her own back, she is well-equipped to sweep an opponent. The two most glaring weaknesses in the Brazilian’s game are her subpar takedown defense and limited gas tank.

Ria has a 7-2 record and has won her last five fights. One of her losses came by way of submission to UFC flyweight Mara Romero Borella. Ria is a southpaw who remains undeveloped on the feet. While she has displayed some fast hands, she tends to just throws them wildly and does not appear to have a strategy for attacks. She can overwhelm low-level competition with her high volume. The 27-year-old throws a lot of arm punches because she does not sit down on them to generate power. She keeps her chin high in the air and tries to avoid attacks by simply backing up and turning her head away from the punches. The Italian fighter has a background in judo, which she displays with nice trips and throws from the clinch. She likes to try the head-and-arm throw, which exposes her back to her opponent. If she ends up on top, she looks to advance to a more dominant position and does punish her foes with hard ground-and-pound. She is a serious submission threat, with all seven of her wins coming by that route.

Santos’ cardio becomes a concern when she cannot finish an opponent early. However, she is the much more physically imposing fighter. The Brazilian also is the more polished fighter on the feet. Expect to see her dart in and out of range with combinations and eventually floor the European fighter with a big shot before finishing Ria with follow-up strikes near the end of the first round. The stoppage victory earns Santos a shot at the UFC.

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