Women’s Flyweights
Miranda Maverick (10-4, 3-2 UFC) vs. Shanna Young (8-4, 1-2 UFC)Maverick came through in a must-win situation, and it will be interesting to see where she goes from here. Maverick arrived in the UFC in 2020 as a highly touted powerhouse of a wrestler, and a striking-heavy debut win over Liana Jojua only raised her stock further. However, the tail end of 2021 saw Maverick hit a clear wall against the fellow early-20 somethings rising through the ranks. She was the more effective fighter but gave up initiative to Maycee Barber, allowing Barber to steal a controversial decision. Erin Blanchfield was then able to outwrestle and outwork Maverick without much issue. There was a sense that Maverick was becoming technical to a fault, which made it nice to see everything come together for her in a March win over Sabina Mazo that saw her score a second-round submission. She should be able to build on things here against Young in a rematch of a 2019 exhibition bout in Invicta Fighting Championships that saw Maverick score a first-round submission. Young got the late-notice call for a 2020 UFC debut at bantamweight against Macy Chiasson, then surprisingly remained at 135 pounds for a subsequent loss to Stephanie Egger. Young is a well-rounded enough fighter but did not have the physicality necessary to make much progress up a weight class. Young’s cut back down to 125 pounds paid immediate dividends; she got outwrestled early by Gina Mazany but stayed in the fight long enough to turn things around and score a sudden finish. There probably will not be that turn in this assignment, however. If anything, it seems likelier that Maverick finds a submission before Young finds an opening to turn the fight her way. The pick is Maverick via second-round submission.
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Santos vs. Gordon
Pudilova vs. Wu
Woodson vs. Saldana
Maverick vs. Young
Fletcher vs. Loosa
Albazi vs. Figueiredo
Aori vs. Perrin
Altamirano vs. Lacerda