MMA Preview – Roxanne Modafferi vs Casey O’Neill at UFC 271
ROXANNE MODAFFERI VS CASEY O’NEILL FACTS
When is UFC 271? Sunday 13rd February, 2021 - 01:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC 271? Toyota Center, Houston, Texas (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC 271? Click here to buy tickets for UFC 271
What channel is UFC 271 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC 271? 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!
ROXANNE MODAFFERI VS CASEY O’NEILL LOWDOWN
Roxanne Modafferi (25-19) makes the walk for the last time as she hangs up the gloves after this fight. She is 4-7 in the UFC and has decent unanimous decision wins over the likes of Maycee Barber (2020) and Andrea Lee (2020) but she struggles against anyone who can defend her takedowns. We have seen this in full effect in her last two fights against Viviane Araujo and Taila Santos last year losing lob-sided unanimous decisions.
Casey O’Neill (8-0) is the next up and comer to test her skills against the veteran. She is unbeaten and finished all three of her UFC fights last year. She was handed a gimmie debut in Shana Dobson, throwing her around before finishing her with a TKO. She then submitted Lara Procopio and earnt a ‘performance of the night’ when she handed Antonina the first knockout loss of her career.
ROXANNE MODAFFERI VS CASEY O’NEILL PREDICTION
O’Neill is blazing a trail and has looked superb, but as we know there is a significant skill gap between the top and bottom of the female divisions, so it remains to be seen whether she can reach the top of the rankings.
Modafferi is a great test for her especially as she has experience in derailing prospects. Barber was also 8-0 when they met having finished all but one of her opponents. Although Barber injured her knee in the fight, Modafferi schooled her with her wrestling.
Worryingly for Modafferi, O’Neill’s strengths also lie in her grappling however, she has better grappling offence than defence and she is susceptible to be taken down which is all Modafferi can offer.
As this is the veteran’s last fight she may decide to stand and trade and have some fun, but the only success we can see her having against O’Neill is getting the odd takedown. The 24-year-old has a lot of room for improvement especially in her striking, but she has the speed, power and offensive grappling to have a comfortable night.
O’Neill is the obvious pick and is a huge favourite. She finished her last four opponents, but Modafferi is very hard to put away, so we are going for a decision.
Prediction: O’Neill via Decision
CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER OF 50/1 ON ISRAEL ADESANYA TO BEAT ROBERT WHITTAKER!