Preview: UFC Fight Night 214 Prelims

Women’s Strawweights

Polyana Viana (12-5, 3-4 UFC) vs. Jinh Yu Frey (11-7, 2-3 UFC)

ODDS: Viana (-135), Frey (+115)

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This is a well-matched bout on paper, even if it may not be all that exciting in practice. It was nice to see Frey get the UFC call in 2020. She had been one of the better atomweights in the world for a while, but it was not a guarantee that the UFC would pick her up for a run at 115 pounds. She has won about half her fights in the years since, mostly on the back of her typically slow-paced approach. Frey usually relies on her muscular frame, powerful striking and control-heavy wrestling to neutralize her opponents and ride out wins. The margins are a bit thinner against larger opponents at 115 pounds, and to her credit, she has appeared willing to turn up the pace a bit, even if it still has not done much to bring a lot of excitement to her fights. After a narrow loss to Vanessa Demopoulos in June snapped a two-fight winning streak, Frey looks to rebound against the much more reckless Viana. The 30-year-old Viana is a bit of a mess, as her striking is spotty and mostly a means to get to her grappling game, as “Dama De Ferro” typically looks to get her hands on her opponents, hunt for submissions and worry about the rest later. That has worked three times in seven UFC fights for the Brazilian, but she has not gotten much done in her losses. Veronica Macedo beat Viana at her own game and scored a quick submission, and Viana’s other three setbacks have seen her either struggle to get the fight to the ground or pull guard and fail to find anything from bottom. Viana is aggressive enough with her grappling that this is a risky fight for Frey, who figures to be most comfortable pinning the Brazilian to the mat. However, Frey grinding out a win feels like the safer bet. The pick is Frey via decision.

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