MMA Preview – Maycee Barber vs Montana De La Rosa at UFC Fight Night 205
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MAYCEE BARBER VS MONTANA DE LA ROSA FACTS
When is UFC Fight Night 205? Sunday 24th April, 2022 - 00:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 205? UFC APEX, Enterprise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 205? Click here for the tickets at the O2 Arena
What channel is UFC Fight Night 205 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 205? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
MAYCEE BARBER VS MONTANA DE LA ROSA LOWDOWN
For all the hype, Maycee Barber (9-2) still has not got her UFC career up and running. When she bulldozed her way through Hannah Cifers (2018), JJ Aldrich (2019) and Gillian Robertson (2019) finishing all of them via TKO, she officially announced herself as the next big thing in the flyweight division. However, she got royally derailed by Rozanne Modafferi (2020) who capitalized on a knee injury to Barber to grind out a unanimous decision. She then lost another decision to the talented Alexa Grasso (2021) to force a lot of fickle fans to write her off, but she is coming off a win albeit a very tight one and split decision over Miranda Maverick (2021).
Montana De La Rosa (12-6-1) pulled out of their first date back at UFC 269 in December, but thankfully they have been rescheduled for this weekend. She is also coming off a win and very impressive TKO over Ariane Lipski (2021) to bump her UFC record up to 5-2-1. That was her first win since February 2020 losing a unanimous decision to Viviane Araujo and poaching a draw off Mayra Bueno Silva (2021).
MAYCEE BARBER VS MONTANA DE LA ROSA PREDICTION
The UFC clearly want to see these two go at it and so do we. They are both talented flyweights with De La Rosa relying on her grappling and Barber, her power. Barber is well-rounded but she will want to avoid ending up on her back.
We expect them to exchange a few takedowns trying to assume top position. Barber will be able to land more damage with ground-and-pound whereas De La Rosa will be more technical trying to set up a submission.
Neither are great strikers, but Barber’s confidence and power could overwhelm De La Rosa before they tie up in a clinch or one of them land a takedown. We expect a very even fight here and although De La Rosa has a clear advantage in jiu-jitsu, Barber’s power should be able to stifle it and win the exchanges on the feet and assume more control time on the deck.
Prediction: Barber via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
Value Bet: De La Rosa via Submission or Decision
