Preview: UFC 315 Prelims

Women’s Flyweights

Jasmine Jasudavicius (13-3, 7-2 UFC) vs. Jessica Andrade (26-13, 17-11 UFC)

ODDS: Jasudavicius (-298), Andrade (+240)

After a few fits and starts, Jasudavicius might be ready for her breakthrough win. Jasudavicius was an interesting prospect ahead of her UFC debut in 2022. Tall and long for the division, the Canadian fought with a dedicated pressure game that at least assured she would be a tough out for most of her opponents. However, it quickly became apparent that she might plateau thanks to her athletic ceiling, most notably in her sophomore UFC bout—a loss that saw Natalia Silva leverage her speed to make Jasudavicius look absolutely glacial as she attempted to hunt the Brazilian down. As it turns out, few flyweights have Silva’s level of speed, so Jasudavicius has been able to meet most of her opponents head-on and come out the better for it. Even after a frustrating loss to Tracy Cortez, who was able to stay ahead of Jasudavicius and neutralize her wrestling, she has rebounded and found herself in much better form, adding some strong grappling to what was already a solid game on the ground while remaining as dedicated to pressure as ever. After coasting her way to wins over potent finishers like Ariane Lipski da Silva and Mayra Bueno Silva, Jasudavicius gets her highest-profile opponent yet in Andrade. A former strawweight champion, Andrade is one of the most prolific women in UFC history, finding success in all three of the promotion’s weight classes while standing out as a powerhouse at any size. When she initially cut down to strawweight from bantamweight, it was notable exactly how much of Andrade’s power carried down to 115 pounds, as she was an absolute wrecking ball. Emphasizing the point, her 2019 strawweight title win over Rose Namajunas ended in about the most Andrade way possible, with the Brazilian lifting the then-champion off the ground and spiking her on her head for the knockout. After dropping the belt to Weili Zhang, Andrade has been a game utility player at 115 and 125 pounds, hitting a ceiling just outside of championship contention in both divisions. After a rough 2023 that saw her struggle to succeed in the face of some personal turmoil, 2024 was a pleasant return to form for “Bate Estaca” as a consistent physical threat. With that said, this does seem like a rough matchup for the former strawweight champion. Andrade is undersized at flyweight despite her success, and Jasudavicius has the mentality and durability that makes her unlikely to be cowed by the Brazilian’s power. Add in Jasudavicius’ newfound finishing ability on the mat—where Andrade has also had her historical struggles—and this seems to line up quite well for the Canadian to get a huge win on home soil. The pick is Jasudavicius via second-round submission.

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