Preview: UFC on ESPN 13 ‘Kattar vs. Ige’

Women’s Flyweights

Taila Santos (15-1) vs. Molly McCann (10-2)

ODDS: Santos (-115), McCann (-105)

This is quietly one of the more interesting fights on the card. McCann’s UFC debut went about as poorly as possible, as she lost to Gillian Robertson in decisive fashion in her hometown of Liverpool, England. However, “Meatball” rebounded with an excellent 2019 campaign—she won all three of her bouts, including an impressive upset of Ariane Lipski, and expanded her game. McCann came into the UFC as a power puncher and little else, so it was encouraging to see her mix in some kicks and some wrestling, even if Lipski was the only decent opponent of the bunch. She will look to build on those gains against Brazil’s Santos, who looks to rebound from her own disappointing UFC debut. Santos fought an extremely weak level of competition to make it onto the Brazilian season of Dana White’s Contender Series, but it looks like it paid off. Santos managed to show off a solid meat-and-potatoes striking game while earning a decision victory and a contract. That also set her up for some trouble in against Mara Romero Borella. While it resulted in a split decision that easily could have gone Santos’ way, the Brazilian had trouble controlling a slow-paced fight against someone who could match her in terms of size and strength. This is an excellent prove-it fight for both fighters; McCann needs to show she can beat the better athletes in the division, and Santos needs to prove she can handily beat a UFC-level fighter. McCann’s improvements over the last year are legitimate, but she also got three ready-made showcase fights. Santos should be able to slow this down and take it to the clinch or to the mat whenever she feels uncomfortable, and this looks like a fight where the Brazilian’s physical advantages will be too much for McCann to overcome. The pick is Santos via decision.

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