It may not wind up exciting in practice, but this is a well-matched
fight between two of the more muscular entrants in the UFC's
strawweight division. Jinh Yu
Frey getting a UFC run has been nice to see; long one of the
better atomweights in the world, it was unclear if she'd ever get
signed by a major promotion outside of her natural weight class.
Frey's style isn't the prettiest and deals with some thin margins;
as a powerful athlete, Frey depends on a low-volume but high-power
striking style to scare her opponents and allow her to lean on a
control-heavy wrestling game. That led to some rough results early
- Frey gave up an armbar to Kay Hansen
in her UFC debut and then got outpaced by Konklak
Suphisara - but she's been able to right the ship with grinding
wins in her two most recent outings. She'll go for three straight
here against Demopoulos, who presents an interesting challenge.
Demopoulos is a similarly bricked-up fighter, and while she's a
willing striker with some knockout power, her frame makes that part
of her game stiff and plodding at times. Instead, where Demopoulos
shines is on the mat; while she's not the best wrestler, she's a
creative grappler who can pull out some impressive finishes - her
inverted triangle choke submission on Sam Hughes
in 2020 was a work of beauty, and she got her first UFC win with an
armbar of Silvana
Gomez Juarez this past January. Demopoulos has some charisma,
so she could wind up making a name for herself if she can string
together some consistent success, which she has a decent shot at
continuing here; given Frey's frequent dedication to the grind,
Demopoulos should get a lot of opportunities to find a fight-ending
submission. But Demopoulos has been neutralized often by better
competition, a bar that Frey seems to clear; given Demopoulos's
tendency to waste time hunting for submissions on her back, this
looks like a fight where Frey can just score some takedowns and
wait out the clock. The pick is Frey via decision.
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