Preview: UFC 287 Prelims

Women’s Strawweights

#15 WSW | Luana Pinheiro (10-1, 2-0 UFC) vs. #10 WSW | Michelle Waterson-Gomez (18-10, 6-6 UFC)

ODDS: Pinheiro (-165), Waterson (+140)

There is a chance for some strawweight prospects to make a rise up the ranks, and Pinheiro is one of the more intriguing talents at 115 pounds. A former judoka, Pinheiro has spent most of her career thus far running over less athletic competition, as all but one of her pre-UFC victories came within a round. Her UFC debut against Randa Markos figured to answer some questions about how the Brazilian could hang in deeper waters, but the result was a bit unsatisfying. Pinheiro looked good in the four minutes that the fight lasted, but things came to a sudden end when an illegal upkick left her unable to continue. Her subsequent win over Sam Hughes was a solid next step. While Hughes was eventually able to fight her way back to a relatively even third round, Pinheiro spent a lot of the fight showing off her judo skills and putting together some solid work. After Pinheiro was unable to find a fight during 2022, it would have been nice for her to get a half-step up in competition to continue to work things out. Instead, she is jumping right into a fight against ranked opposition. Waterson-Gomez has had a surprisingly strong career all in all. She proved to be a solid fighter despite being best known for her “Karate Hottie” marketing gimmick, then was able to hold her own as a natural atomweight moving up to 115 pounds in the UFC. Despite her diminutive frame, Waterson-Gomez has been able to find effectiveness as a speedy range striker, and she has added to that with a sneakily strong offensive wrestling and grappling game, allowing her to switch things up as the matchup calls for. That has kept her as a relevant strawweight for most of her UFC career, even though she has clearly settled in as a gatekeeper to the upper tiers at 115 pounds, mostly thanks to her physical ceiling. Her last bout against Amanda Lemos was a clear reminder of that reality. Waterson-Gomez put together a strong outing up until the point that Lemos suddenly turned some brief success into a submission finish shortly thereafter. Waterson-Gomez could run into the same problem here, but if she can stick to an evasive gameplan for three rounds, she should be able to exploit the striking Pinheiro showed in her last fight. With that said, Waterson-Gomez can also attempt to be well-rounded to a fault. That figures to give Pinheiro enough opportunities at dynamic offense—or she could just repeatedly send Waterson head over heels onto the mat—to earn a victory. The pick is Pinheiro via decision.

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