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Women’s Flyweights
NR | Lara Procopio (7-1, 1-1 UFC) vs. NR | Casey O'Neill (6-0, 1-0 UFC)Advertisement
This should be a compelling fight between two prospects coming off impressive performances. Born in Scotland and raised in Australia, O’Neill certainly has some potential, but her readiness to move up the flyweight ladder remains unclear. There are a lot of tools and good ideas, but while O’Neill was undefeated in her regional career, she did not show the kind of dominance against a weak level of competition that suggested she would instantly be able to make an impact in the UFC. That is all out the window after her UFC debut against Shana Dobson in February, when O’Neill faced the toughest opponent of her career and got both the win and the finish without much of an issue. Still just 23, O’Neill is an excellent long-term prospect, but in the short term, it will be interesting to see how she fares against Procopio.
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Brazil’s Procopio was a bit more proven prior to her UFC career and impressed despite losing her Octagon debut, as she moved up to bantamweight and matched a hellish pace in an all-out war against Karol Rosa. Back down at flyweight, Procopio was much more able to dictate the terms of her fight against Molly McCann, putting on a surprisingly dominant performance on the back of her own wrestling and grappling. This is basically a coinflip. While Procopio is the more proven entity, O'Neill is much less of an advantageous style matchup than was McCann, and she is a much better athlete. With that said, Procopio is by far the strongest test of O’Neill’s young career. The call is for experience to beat potential, even though Procopio is just 25 years old in her own right. The pick is Procopio via decision.
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