Preview: UFC Fight Night 230 ‘Yusuff vs. Barboza’

Women’s Flyweights

#9 WFLW | Jennifer Maia (21-9-1, 6-5 UFC) vs. #11 WFLW | Viviane Araujo (11-5, 5-4 UFC)

ODDS: Maia (-130), Araujo (+110)

The UFC women’s flyweight division continues to deepen, so this is an important fight for two divisional stalwarts to keep pace. A well-traveled veteran who had already established herself with a championship reign in Invicta Fighting Championships, Maia made her UFC debut in 2018 and immediately slotted in as a gatekeeper to the flyweight elite. Maia came to the UFC with a fairly simple game built around slow-paced striking and pressure in the name of getting to the clinch, where she could overpower most opponents. It hit a clear ceiling against opponents able to either match her strength or outmaneuver her lack of speed, but Maia chugged along until the point that she was eventually the freshest challenger for then-champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 255. Shevchenko’s 2020 title defense against Maia was the first sign of some cracks in the all-time great’s game. It showcased how strong Maia was and how that could neutralize a lot of Shevchenko’s best weapons. Despite doing well relative to Shevchenko’s previous competition—even winning one round in a clear loss was seen as a moral victory—Maia has shown an impressive ability to evolve in the years since, adding in the ability to strike from range and through some faster combinations. She is still overmatched in some aspects when it comes to facing better athletes, but her March win over Casey O’Neill in particular showed that Maia has enough versatility to take apart some younger prospects with less technical depth. For her next test, Maia takes on a Brazilian countrywoman in Araujo, who looks to turn around some negative momentum in recent years.

Araujo was a revelation upon hitting the UFC. A career strawweight, “Vivi” made her UFC debut on days’ notice up at bantamweight in 2019, knocking out Talita Bernardo before then settling in as an impressive flyweight prospect. Araujo does seem to have had issues adjusting to the higher baseline of athleticism in the division, as there is a clear throughline to her UFC career thus far. Araujo is handily able to stay ahead of slower opponents, but she has been taken out of fights against opponents with the speed to either match her striking or get in on takedowns. That is a concern for Maia here, as Araujo could just outquick her for the better part of three rounds. However, the read is that Maia has enough optionality to lean on something that works, even if it requires more of a return to her grinding style to slow Araujo down. The pick is Maia via decision.

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Yusuff vs. Barboza
Maia vs. Araujo
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Rodriguez vs. Saaiman
The Prelims