Preview: UFC on ESPN 48 Prelims

Women’s Flyweights

Ivana Siric Petrovic (6-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Luana Carolina (8-4, 3-3 UFC)

ODDS: Petrovic (-210), Carolina (+180)

The UFC is continuing to try and fill out its women’s divisions, and Petrovic is the latest prospect to step up to the plate. Fighting out of Norway, Petrovic certainly has a lot of tools with which to work. She is massive for the division and proven to be quite mentally durable. Even when she experiences some rough moments, Petrovic is willing to keep marching forward to attempt to bully her opponents, showing an ability to drag them to the mat and finish things from there. Despite her size, Petrovic still has not been particularly effective as a range striker, owing to what figures to be a considerable speed deficit going forward, which makes Carolina a fascinating first test for her UFC career. Carolina was an exceptionally raw prospect coming off Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018, leaving the Brazilian to essentially learn on the job during her time on the UFC roster. At first, “Dread” was a lanky striker who would be immediately taken out of her game in the face of her opponent’s offense, but she has done well to build things out since. She is not the most comfortable fighter under pressure, but she is now able to steel herself and fight back, and she has also proven herself surprisingly difficult to control on the mat. However, there is the feeling that a lot of Carolina’s defensive success comes through her size, which in turn means that could all fall apart against one of the few flyweights with an even larger frame in Petrovic. The main question: Can Petrovic track Carolina down? The UFC newcomer gets the benefit of the doubt. The pick is Petrovic via decision.

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Petrovic vs. Carolina
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