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Women’s Strawweights

Silvana Gomez Juarez (10-4, 0-2 UFC) vs. Na Liang (19-5, 0-1 UFC)

ODDS: Juarez (-150), Liang (+130)

UFC 261 marked the return of fans, and Liang memorably kicked the night off with a round and change of absolute madness against Ariane Carnelossi. China’s “Dragon Girl” has an approach built entirely around storming her opponent and attempting to find an early submission by whatever means possible. That led to a manic few minutes, but Liang had little to offer once Carnelossi survived the early danger, tiring out badly and getting finished early in the second round. Liang attempts to rebound for her first UFC win against Juarez, who should be an interesting dance partner. “La Malvada” figured to struggle at the UFC level. The Argentinian has a long career and some pop as a boxer, but she has had difficulties implementing her game against better athletes, particularly ones who can take her to the mat. Juarez quickly got taken down and tapped out by Lupita Godinez in her late-notice UFC debut, though she did look good on the feet early against Vanessa Demopoulos in January. However, she followed Demopoulos to the ground and once again got submitted. This is a winnable fight for Liang, but despite suffering two first-round submissions, Juarez’s record generally suggests it takes a better athlete or grappler to actually score that finish. Add in Liang’s questionable cardio past the first round, and Juarez should be able to turn this around in brutal fashion. The pick is Juarez via second-round knockout.

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