Preview: UFC on ESPN 40 ‘Santos vs. Hill’

Tom FeelyAug 04, 2022

‘The Ultimate Fighter 30’ Women’s Flyweight Final

Juliana Miller (2-1, 0-0 UFC) vs. Brogan Walker (7-2, 0-0 UFC)

ODDS: Miller (-125), Walker (+105)

“The Ultimate Fighter 30” women’s flyweight final provides an interesting contrast. For better or for worse, Miller was one of the standout personalities of the season and did show some improvement from her prior professional fights, even avenging her loss to Claire Guthrie in her last pro bout. That is to be expected. Miller is just three fights deep into a career that started in 2019, and she does have some skills with which to work as a solid grappler with an impressive level of aggression. However, it is unclear exactly how far Miller can take that at this point. She is not an overpowering athlete just yet, leading her to get stalled out as a wrestler at times, and her striking is all about swinging for the fences as she attempts to crash into her opponents and get to her grappling. With that said, there is some clear upside if everything clicks for her. Walker is the steady veteran of the two, a pro since 2014 and operating under the Invicta Fighting Championship banner since 2018, facing a solid level of competition that includes UFC vets Miranda Maverick, Pearl Gonzalez and Erin Blanchfield. Walker combines some movement-heavy striking—it is not always pretty—with some solid wrestling and grappling. She did enough defensively to hold off and beat Maverick, but losses to Gonzalez and Blanchfield exposed that she can be dragged into a losing battle against stronger wrestlers. As a result, there is a clear path to victory for Miller if she can score a few takedowns, particularly since she is a strong submission threat. However, Walker has shown an ability to stall out some solid wrestlers in the past, and based on her footage thus far, it does not appear Miller is yet at that level. It may not be all that inspiring, but the pick is Walker via decision.



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Santos vs. Hill
Luque vs. Neal
Pauga vs. Usman
Miller vs. Walker
Spivak vs. Sakai
Lipski vs. Cachoeira
The Prelims