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Women’s Strawweights

Stephanie Luciano (5-1-1, 0-0 UFC) vs. Talita Alencar (5-0-1, 1-0 UFC)

ODDS: Luciano (-185), Alencar (+154)

It’s not particularly creative matchmaking, but at least these two Brazilian strawweights will get the chance to settle some unfinished business from the Contender Series. Luciano and Alencar were paired off to try and vie for a contract, and the fight saw the latter—a standout grappler and clearly the stronger athlete of the two—handle things fairly easily with her wrestling for the better part of two rounds. However, that came at the cost of Alencar’s cardio, and she was exhausted enough by the end of the second round that Luciano dominated the third, ending the fight in a draw when it went to the scorecards. Luciano was awarded a contract at the end of the night while the UFC passed over Alencar. Yet it was actually Alencar that made her UFC debut first. The UFC needed to fill out a card on late notice in December, so “The Problem Child” got the call. That fight against Rayanne dos Santos went much the same way as the Contender Series bout, with Alencar tiring late. This time, she did just enough to earn a controversial win on the scorecards, paving the way for this rematch in Luciano’s UFC debut. There’s not much to suggest this will go much differently than their first fight in the aggregate. Alencar remains the much better athlete who’s attempting to manage her gas tank while rounding out her game, and Luciano is a scrapper who seems under-athletic but tough and consistent. Alencar gets the nod as the surer bet to impose her will and cause some damage at the start of the fight, but another late Luciano comeback resulting in a win the second time around wouldn’t be a shock. The pick is Alencar via decision.

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Luciano vs. Alencar