Preview: UFC on ESPN 43 Prelims

Women’s Bantamweights

Hailey Cowan (7-2, 0-0 UFC) vs. Tamires Vidal (7-1, 1-0 UFC)

ODDS: Cowan (-130), Vidal (+110)

Bantamweight prospects look to sort things out here. A former All-American gymnast, Cowan cuts an impressive figure physically, even if “All Hail” still has a game that feels like less than the sum of its parts. Cowan has some grappling skill and can crack on the feet, but thus far, she has mostly gotten by on sheer horsepower to control her opposition, which made things a bit of an adventure. Even in fights where Cowan is seemingly set up to dominate, she can still get stalled out and just wind up winning an absolute grind. Cowan still has potential and could wind up being a force once everything clicks; the hope is that at least part of that jump happens in this UFC debut against Vidal. As a young prospect whose lone loss came to UFC vet Karol Rosa early in her career, Vidal was worth the flier for the UFC even if she looked particularly raw. Her approach has tended to be a bit aimless, but she at least busted out a heel hook in the win that earned her a UFC contract in 2022. It figures to be a rough learning curve for the Brazilian inside the UFC, but she at least kept up the dynamism in her promotional debut against Ramona Pascual in November, quickly breaking out a flying knee to the stomach that crumpled the Syndicate MMA rep for a finish. Cowan’s grinding style should give Vidal 15 minutes to try and make something happen, but the bet is that the UFC newcomer can ride this one out. Even with her grappling success, it has been surprisingly easy for some opponents to outwrestle and control Vidal for long stretches of time. The pick is Cowan via decision.

Jump To »
Pineda vs. Lutz
Peterson vs. Alexander
Giles vs. Parsons
Vergara vs. da Silva
Torres vs. Ogden
Salvador vs. Altamirano
Cowan vs. Vidal