Preview: UFC Fight Night 197 Prelims

Women’s Flyweights

NR | Cortney Casey (9-9, 5-8 UFC) vs. NR | Liana Jojua (8-4, 1-2 UFC)

ODDS: Casey (-235), Jojua (+195)

Casey could use a win. She was a solid entrant in the UFC’s strawweight division almost immediately upon her 2015 debut, although she never got near title contention. On the positive side, she is an obvious athlete with a large frame and surprisingly fast hands, on top of proving to be quite durable. However, her slow foot speed became a liability against faster opponents, and the lack of variety to her actual approach meant she often found herself unable to catch opponents by surprise, even if she still managed to eke out some wins through sheer force of will. A move up to flyweight has not gone particularly well. Even if Casey is a bit comparatively faster, that has been offset by even more difficulty controlling her fights, as Gillian Robertson and J.J. Aldrich outwrestled her easily. That could be a path to victory for Jojua, though she has not shown much in her UFC career to date. Georgia’s Jojua looked solid enough against a weak slate of competition on the regional scene, but she quickly got cowed by the jump up in level against Sarah Moras in her UFC debut. Dropping to flyweight, Jojua also got pushed backwards against Diana Belbita but was quickly able to score a submission. She then got thrown into a tough matchup against Miranda Maverick and did not accomplish much as a result. This looks like Casey’s fight to lose, as she might be able to get a submission even if Jojua can get her wrestling game going and figures to be the much more effective striker for as long as the fight remains on the feet. The pick is Casey via decision.

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