Preview: UFC Fight Night 194 ‘Dern vs. Rodriguez’

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Women’s Flyweights

NR | Sabina Mazo (9-2, 3-2 UFC) vs. NR | Mariya Agapova (9-2, 1-1 UFC)

ODDS: Mazo (-162), Agapova (+142)

High-upside prospects clash in this interesting matchup. Kazakhstan’s Agapova drew some early comparisons to Joanna Jedrzejczyk, though those were mostly based on cosmetic reasons, as she has a similar frame and carries herself with the same level of swagger. Even if that comparison was a bit much, Agapova has still been a prospect to watch as an impressive whirlwind of violence, overwhelming her opponents on the feet and the ground. Agapova’s 2019 bout on Dana White’s Contender Series ended in a loss to Tracy Cortez, but that result has aged well and she found herself in the UFC anyway, racking up two more quick wins and getting a contract less than a year later. Agapova then ran over Hannah Cifers in her UFC debut and made a surprising callout of Shana Dobson, who appeared to be on her way out of the promotion and did not figure to be much of a step forward. The UFC surprisingly wound up making the fight, and the end result was one of the biggest betting upsets in the promotion’s history, as Dobson held her own with Agapova before pounding out a finish on the mat in the second round. It is unclear exactly where Agapova is at over a year later, but she does not get much of a rebound against Mazo.

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Colombia’s Mazo is a similarly long fighter, but she has the exact opposite approach as Agapova. While Agapova uses her size and length to overwhelm and blitz opponents, the “Colombian Queen” is much more prone to keeping her opponents at a distance. That worked well prior to the UFC, as Mazo scored some impressive head kicks against completely overwhelmed opposition. A debut loss to Maryna Moroz forced Mazo to adapt her style, mixing in some wrestling and close-range offense in the face of some surprisingly tough matchmaking. This could be a tricky fight for Mazo, particularly early when Agapova is most willing to throw. Agapova can match her size while also being the fastest opponent Mazo has faced to date. Given how quickly things went south for Agapova once Dobson was able to survive, it is hard not to see Mazo staying composed and taking over as the American Top Team rep continues to run out of ideas. The pick is Mazo via third-round stoppage.

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