Preview: UFC Fight Night 187 Prelims

Women’s Flyweight

NR | J.J. Aldrich (8-4, 4-3 UFC) vs. NR | Cortney Casey (9-8, 5-7 UFC)

ODDS: Aldrich (-150), Casey (+130)

Two solid flyweights square off here. Casey was a difficult fighter to calibrate during her run at 115 pounds. An obvious athlete with good size for the division, she provided some dangerous moments for her opponents but would rarely take over a fight. Casey’s combination of slow feet and fast hands usually meant that her bouts would quickly settle into one of two grooves: a range striking battle at a middling pace, or her opponent shooting takedowns while Casey tried to work for a submission from the bottom. The end result was a lot of close fights that often were not inspiring, and Casey eventually moved up to flyweight in 2020. It has been an interesting gambit. She quickly got an armbar on Mara Romero Borella, but a one-sided loss to Gillian Robertson was a bit worrying. Robertson is a solid wrestler and underrated grappler, but Casey’s athletic advantages figured to insulate her from the Din Thomas protégé’s skills more than they did in practice. Casey looks to rebound against a fellow former strawweight in Aldrich, who continues to chug along as an underrated fighter. Aldrich is about as unspectacularly well-rounded as any fighter in the UFC, which is meant as a compliment given the concerns about her earlier in her career. She seemed like a non-athlete that could be overwhelmed, but she has proven to be a surprisingly strong fighter who can hit her opponents hard. With that said, Aldrich can still face an uphill battle against the better athletes of the division—fighters who can win rounds with single moments in contrast to her workmanlike approach. Aldrich should manage to take this one. Casey’s physical gifts have not seemed to carry her particularly far at flyweight, and Aldrich seems much more likely to neutralize her than get caught by any sort of submission. It may not be a thriller, but the pick is Aldrich via decision.

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