It might just be time for some cautious optimism around Lipski.
Expectations were high for Brazil’s “Queen of Violence” upon her
2019 UFC debut. After an extremely successful run in Poland’s KSW
promotion, Lipski was immediately thrown into the contender mix
with a fight against Joanne Wood.
At that point, the holes in Lipski’s game became apparent, mostly
on the defensive end. While she had the dogged aggression to live
up to her nickname, she quickly got stifled against a better level
of opposition—a point driven home even more in a subsequent loss to
Molly
McCann. Lipski did rebound with a two-fight winning streak,
again mostly through sheer aggression, though it did result in a
gnarly kneebar victory over Luana
Carolina in 2020. However, Lipski’s luck quickly corrected
itself with one-sided losses to Antonina
Shevchenko and Montana
De La Rosa. It did seem that Lipski was finally attempting to
work some patience and thought into her approach by the time of the
latter defeat, but that did not truly come through until her
September win over Mandy Bohm.
It was a consistent performance that reminded everyone of Lipski’s
potential. Given that she is still somehow just 28 years old, there
is the chance she could finally round into form and make a charge
up the division. That would require a strong effort against
Cachoeira, who has found some shocking success in recent years.
Cachoeira’s UFC debut was memorable for all the wrong reasons. Her
regional film suggested she would be a low-level brawler who would
struggle to stick in the organization, and that was before a bunch
of late changes resulted in her getting matched with Valentina
Shevchenko in a fight that resulted in an extended beating and
multiple major injuries for Cachoeira. The UFC then seemed set to
let Cachoeira fight out her contract despite quickly proving she
was not a UFC-level fighter. However, the Brazilian somehow managed
to string together knockouts of Shana
Dobson and Gina Mazany
through sheer durability and persistence. It was a bit of a shock
to see the UFC keep Cachoeira on the roster after a combination of
domestic violence allegations and gouging Gillian
Robertson’s eye in their fight at the tail end of 2021, but she
got another shot and scored a controversial decision over Ji Yeon Kim
in February. Lipski is obviously the more skilled fighter, but the
worry is that Cachoeira might be the more unbreakable and
aggressive competitor if this turns into an all-out brawl. Even if
Lipski sells out on offense here, that typically involves her
pivoting to her wrestling and grappling, an area that remains a
liability for Cachoeira despite improvements. The pick is Lipski
via second-round submission.
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