Preview: UFC 252 ‘Miocic vs. Cormier 3’ Prelims

Former Invicta FC champ Virna Jandiroba (15-1) secures her inaugural UFC win, imposing her grappling on Mallory Martin en route to a second-round RNC. The self-proclaimed "Female Demian Maia" owns 12 finishes, each by sub. #UFCDC pic.twitter.com/dJvlWjzXlE

— Kyle Johnson (@VonPreux) December 7, 2019

Women’s Strawweights

Virna Jandiroba (15-1) vs. Felice Herrig (14-8)

ODDS: Jandiroba (-300), Herrig (+250)

Her window to true strawweight contender status has probably closed, but it will be interesting to see how Herrig looks after nearly two years on the shelf. Herrig was already considered more of a veteran gatekeeper when the UFC got its strawweight division off the ground, which was made obvious when the promotion matched her with Paige VanZant in an attempt to get the latter a prominent win. The promotion’s gambit worked. VanZant outpaced and outworked Herrig on route to a clear decision win, so Herrig took over a year off to get her mind right and refocus. Herrig came back in the best form of her career. The UFC basically tried to follow the VanZant blueprint with Alexa Grasso by matching Herrig with the Mexican prospect. However, Herrig responded with the most consistent performance of her career to prove she was no steppingstone. That was the start of a breakout 2017 campaign for Herrig, who leaned on her kickboxing background and solid wrestling for wins over Grasso, Justine Kish and Cortney Casey to get close to the title picture. Unfortunately for her, 2018 saw Herrig lose both her bouts—albeit with solid performances against strong competition—and an ACL tear has kept her out ever since. She will look to start anew against Brazil’s Jandiroba, who could prove to be a divisional dark horse with a win. Jandiroba came into the UFC with an undefeated record after a strong campaign in Invicta but drew a bit of a nightmare matchup in Carla Esparza for her Octagon debut. Jandiroba’s grappling is by far the best part of her game, and Esparza is one of the few strawweights who can beat her in that phase of the fight. Jandiroba rebounded in December with a win over Mallory Martin, and a win here would show that she has enough talent to make a run up the division. This fight comes down to Jandiroba’s ability to take this to the mat, but if Herrig is anywhere near her previous form, the “Lil Bulldog” should be able to keep the Brazilian at bay with her huge striking advantage. The pick is Herrig via decision.

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