Alexa Grasso and Viviane Araujo face off on Saturday in a women’s flyweight showdown at UFC Fight Night 212 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Alexa Grasso comes into this game with a 14-3 record overall and she has won three fights in a row. In Grasso’s last fight against Joanne Wood, near the end of the first round, she locked in a rear naked choke and was able to secure the victory. The other two wins were by unanimous decision. The last loss came against Carla Esparza and that was a majority decision loss. Grasso is averaging 4.92 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 3.79 significant strikes per minute. She is averaging 0.54 takedowns every 15 minutes and is successful on 57 percent of her takedown attempts. She also stops 60 percent of her opponent's takedown attempts. She is also averaging 0.7 submission attempts every 15 minutes.
On the other side of this fight is Viviane Araujo who sits with an 11-3 record overall and she has won two of her last three fights. In Araujo’s last fight against Andrea Lee, she was actually outstruck 47-39 but she had three takedowns and two submission attempts. Araujo is averaging 4.76 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 5.13 significant strikes per minute. She wants to get the fight to the ground and is averaging 2.33 takedowns every 15 minutes. She is successful on 60 percent of her takedown attempts and she stops 90 percent of her opponent's takedown attempts.
If this fight was earlier in her career, I think this is one that Grasso really struggles with. Grasso has really improved with her takedown defense though, and that is going to be a key here. Grasso is a high-paced fighter and as this fight goes on, she’s going to wear down Araujo. I don’t think she gets the finish, but she is going to get the win. Back Grasso by a decision to cash.