Preview: UFC Fight Night 177 ‘Waterson vs. Hill’ Prelims

Women’s Flyweights

Sabina Mazo (8-1) vs. Justine Kish (7-2)

ODDS: Mazo (-245), Kish (+205)

Between her rapid improvement and the fact that she is just 23 years old, Colombia’s Mazo might be the brightest prospect in the UFC women’s flyweight division. Mazo put together an impressive highlight reel on the regional scene, but she was essentially set up to do so; a tall fighter with an impressive kicking game, “The Colombian Queen” faced some tough outs but none that could put her in any sort of danger. That led to a bit of a rude awakening in her UFC debut, where the similarly lanky Maryna Moroz managed to frustrate Mazo and score a decision win. The Colombian did well—both during the course of that fight and in her subsequent appearances—to show some improvement. Mazo showed a strong wrestling game against Shana Dobson, and her last win over J.J. Aldrich showed she could make her striking game work against solid opposition. Kish is the right next step up in competition, as she is a powerful athlete who could cause some damage both on the feet and in the clinch. The issue essentially involves which Kish is going to show up. She has fought infrequently due to constant injuries, and her willingness to press the action and go after her opponents seems to wax and wane with each fight. If Kish applies constant pressure, she could make this another rough learning experience for Mazo, but the more lackadaisical version of the Gym-O rep is likely to just get picked apart at range. This is a coinflip, but given the Colombian’s improvement each time out and the fact she figures to be the quicker fighter, the pick is Mazo via decision.