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Women’s Flyweights

#9 WFLW | Alexa Grasso (13-3, 5-3 UFC) vs. #7 WFLW | Joanne Wood (15-7, 7-7 UFC)

ODDS: Grasso (-225), Wood (+185)

Even as Valentina Shevchenko lords over the flyweight division without much of an obvious challenge, there is still a lot of fun to be had on the distaff side of 125 pounds, including this matchup. Upon her signing with the UFC in 2016, Grasso was expected to lead the way for the UFC’s charge of Mexican talent; and while it has been a slower ascent through the ranks than most would have expected, Grasso is still a rising fighter to watch. While she has some solid grappling, most of the headlines around Grasso rightfully center on her boxing, which made it a surprise when Felice Herrig was able to hand her a mostly striking-based upset in her second UFC bout. Grasso recovered well in the years since, but the UFC’s matchmaking towards her has been somewhat odd. She is featured and obviously a prospect that the promotion is behind, but it has consistently handed her some tough matchups against wrestlers who can stifle the best parts of what she can do, leading to disappointing losses against Tatiana Suarez and Carla Esparza. After the loss to Esparza and some recurring weight issues, Grasso decided to move up to flyweight for a change that looks to have paid off. Grasso took a while to get into a groove against Ji Yeon Kim, but her last fight against Maycee Barber was reason for optimism, as she physically held her own against one of the bigger bullies in the division and walked away with a clear decision win. Even with Grasso’s setbacks and multiple injury layoffs, she is still just 28 years old, so there is still a high ceiling for her as she continues to round out her game. In the short term, she gets one of the perennially tougher tests of the division in Wood.

Wood is another fighter who has been greatly helped with a move up to flyweight, as it became obvious that the division would be the Scotswoman’s new home as soon as the UFC introduced its newest weight class. As a strawweight, Wood was often on the fringes of contention but struggled against the quicker and more aggressive athletes of the division. While Wood still is not a top-tier athlete, the move up in weight has allowed her to both fill out as a much physically stronger fighter and put together victories by outpacing her opponents. Without knockout power, Wood’s fights can turn into a frustrating coinflip at times, weighing her pace and volume against a harder-hitting opponent, which in turn has kept her just short of a title shot. Wood’s booked fight against Shevchenko was a casualty of the pandemic, and of her four losses at flyweight, three opponents have gotten a title shot in their next fight. That includes Wood’s last appearance, a shockingly one-sided loss to Taila Santos that raises some worry that the contender window may have closed for “JoJo,” making this matchup against Grasso quite crucial. This is an excellently made fight that is hard to call. After the Barber fight showed that Grasso has the physicality to hang at flyweight, it is a nice change of pace to then ask if she now has the athleticism to separate herself from Wood, who by default is the much higher-paced striker. Wood is hittable, but without Grasso being a knockout artist, a lot of this fight may come down to the clinch, where the Lobo Gym rep has looked impressively strong as a flyweight. However, it is also a historical strength of Wood, who herself has been sneakily strong since the move up to 125 pounds and is capable of throwing some vicious knees. There does not figure to be much separation between these two over 15 minutes, but the bet is that Wood can eke this out based on both pace and her ability to throw offense in close quarters, even if this has split verdict written all over it. The pick is Wood via decision.

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