Preview: UFC Fight Night 228 Prelims

Women’s Bantamweights

Tamires Vidal (7-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Montserrat Rendon (5-0, 0-0 UFC)

ODDS: Vidal (-238), Rendon (+195)

The UFC continues to fill out its women’s bantamweight division in the hopes that a new contender emerges, and these two are worthy fliers. Vidal won her UFC debut with an impressive flying knee to the stomach in November, but it is still a bit hard to count on the Brazilian’s consistency. Vidal has some athletic potential, but she can feel a bit aimless in her approach in between some flashes of dynamism. At the very least, scoring a flashy knockout showed some progress for a game that was mostly at its best when Vidal took her opponents to the mat, so perhaps she continues to show some new wrinkles against a UFC newcomer in Rendon. Mexico’s Rendon is a straightforward pressure fighter with some powerful striking, but while “Monster” has been a consistent winner thus far in her career, it does feel like her game should pop a bit more. Rendon’s steady power has not resulted in many big moments or any finishes, making her fights a bit more nip-tuck in nature than they should be at times. That is enough to give Vidal the nod here, particularly since this reads as a fight where she can find some wrestling success, but this should be a slow-paced fight that can easily go in either direction. The pick is Vidal via decision.

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Vidal vs. Rendon