Women’s Strawweights
Maryna Moroz (6-1) vs Cristina Stanciu (5-0)This approach has worked well for Stanciu so far, but there is little reason to believe that Moroz will be so easy to beat up. With a boxing background, Moroz displays solid combination punching, every shot flowing off of a stiff jab. Moroz has been a little too confident in her punching prowess in the past; she was so determined to exchange with Valerie Letourneau, for example, that she left herself unbalanced and exposed to a cracking right hand in the first round. Still, Moroz is by far more technical and reserved than Stanciu.
Stanciu does own a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, but so far in her short MMA career, her grappling has only been put on display against badly overmatched competition. Moreover, Stanciu does not seem to have much of a wrestling game, relying on her striking to fell opponents and force ground exchanges. By submitting Joanne Calderwood in her UFC debut, Moroz has already earned more faith in her MMA grappling than her opponent.
THE ODDS: Moroz (-190), Stanciu (+161)
THE PICK: There is the distinct possibility that Stanciu storms out of the gate, goads Moroz into a brawl and gets the better of it. Moroz is young and inexperienced, and Stanciu’s aggression will be a completely unfamiliar kind of test. Still, Moroz’s experience has to count for a lot. Two UFC fights do not mean much in most divisions, but women’s strawweight is a different story. Moroz’s 1-1 UFC record means much more than a hundred of Stanciu’s ritual sacrifices. The pick is Moroz by second-round submission.
Last Fights » The Prelims