Preview: DWCS Season 3, Episode 9

Micol DiSegni vs. Mallory Martin

DiSegni looks to do what fellow countrywoman Lucrezia Ria could not: net a UFC contract after procuring a victory. The Italian sports a 7-2 professional record and has won six of her last seven fights. The 31-year-old has crafted her game by supplementing training with the illustrious Jackson-Wink MMA team. She is an accurate pressure counterstriker who does well at slipping strikes and landing her powerful right hand. The Gloria Fight Center team member loves to slide into the pocket using feints and head movement, at which point she lands shots and darts back out of range before being counterstruck. The Italian does best when she is pressing the action instead of being forced to back up and strike while retreating. She will mix up her attacks by adding in takedowns but does not do much from the top position. Her biggest weakness is her takedown defense, but she does well to fight back to her feet. DiSegni’s high output and cardio make her a difficult test for anybody.

Despite just a 4-2 record, Martin is better than her record indicates. The Invicta Fighting Championships and Legacy Fighting Alliance veteran’s two losses came against high-level opposition in Maycee Barber and Sunna Rannveig Davidsdottir. The Colorado native enters the Octagon on the heels of a three-fight winning streak, with all three victories coming by way of stoppage. The 25-year-old is an aggressive, tough-as-nails fighter. She is a bit of a brawler due to her willingness to eat a strike if she knows it will help her land one of her own. Her high output crumbles many opponents. The bread and butter of her game is her grappling. Martin is a strong wrestler with nice timing on her double- and single-leg entries. If she fails to land the perfectly timed takedown, she does well in scrambles and usually finds herself on top. Once there, she does well to keep her opponent’s shoulders pinned against the canvas, often following up with ferocious ground-and-pound. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt is also a submission threat.

This should be a fun fight. Both women prefer to press the action on the feet and not take a step back and both should enjoy some success -- until Martin decides to capitalize on her biggest advantage by taking down the Italian. Watch for Martin to land several takedowns in the first two rounds and batter DeSegni on the ground on her way to a second-round stoppage and a spot on the UFC roster.

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