Preview: UFC Fight Night 243 Prelims

Women’s Bantamweights

#15 WBW | Ailin Perez (10-2, 3-1 UFC) vs. Darya Zheleznyakova (9-1, 1-0 UFC)

ODDS: Perez (-238), Zheleznyakova (+195)

Perez looks to continue her surprising run of success in this appearance. Perez’s regional footage wasn’t particularly inspiring. She looked like the second coming of Bethe Correia in terms of attitude, but she also appeared to be an under-athletic wrestler who even struggled to dominate some subpar competition at times. However, the Argentinian has been a clear success story since losing her UFC debut. She has been able to train her way into obviously better shape, and she has proven to be absolutely relentless in trying to outwrestle and outscramble her opponents. That has proven to be messy at times—her last win over Joselyne Edwards was an all-out display of two women consistently fighting through their mistakes—but nobody at 135 pounds has been able to stop Perez yet, and Zheleznyakova is the next to step up and try. Like a lot of the UFC’s recent signings at bantamweight, Zheleznyakova was essentially a pure flier as the promotion looks to ink whoever racks up regional wins and let things shake out from there. While it’s hard to pick out any standout skill for the Russian, her combination of size, speed and relative youth has made her worth investing in, particularly after she stayed ahead of a solid fighter in Montserrat Rendon to win her UFC debut in March. Zheleznyakova looks at her most comfortable on the feet, and there’s little to suggest she will be ready to keep up with the pace that Perez figures to set. The pick is Perez via decision.

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