Sara McMann is more than a 2-1 favorite to defeat Kelten Vieira in one of the preliminary bouts on FS1 on Saturday at UFC 215 in Edmonton, Alberta. McMann comes into this fight at 11-3, including 5-3 in the UFC, while Vieira is unbeaten at 8-0, including 2-0 in the UFC. The fight between McMann and Vieira is one of four on the FS1 portion of the preliminary card, leading up to a five-fight main pay-per-view card that features Demetrious Johnson taking on Ray Borg. Let’s take a look at McMann vs. Vieira and UFC picks.
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Sara McMann (11-3, 5-3 UFC)
McMann has 11 wins in her career against just three losses and the three losses came against very tough fighters, as she was beaten by Ronda Rousey in 2014, Miesha Tate in 2015 and Amanda Nunes, also in 2015. Since the loss to Nunes, McMann has gone unbeaten, beating Jessica Eye, Alexis Davis and Gina Mazany. The last two wins by McMann came by submission, as she used an arm-triangle choke to beat Davis and the same hold to defeat Mazany.
McMann is up to No. 9 in the latest rankings for the bantamweight division. It is not a stretch to see her getting another title shot in the near future if she wins this fight as expected against Vieira.
McMann is known for her skill on the mat which is where this fight should be decided. She has 14 takedowns in bantamweight competition, the second-most in division history. McMann will be competing in her ninth UFC bantamweight fight, tied with Tate for the most in the division’s history. Her three-fight winning streak is actually the third-longest active streak in the division behind only Nunes and Raquel Pennington.
Ketlen Vieira (8-0, 2-0 UFC)
Vieira comes into this fight unbeaten at 8-0 and she is 2-0 in the UFC but she hasn’t faced nearly the competition that McMann has. Vieira is known as a solid striker but she is also very good on the mat, as she has three submission wins in her career.
Vieira has two wins in the UFC, as she defeated Kelly Faszholz and Ashlee Evans-Smith. The win against Faszholz was by split decision, while the win against Evans-Smith was by unanimous decision.
UFC Picks
You have to like what McMann has done since losing to Rousey, as she has three straight wins. She has the clear edge on the mat against Vieira and that is where I think this fight will be decided. Vieira is the better striker but I just don’t see how she avoids a takedown in this fight. The strategy for McMann should be to quickly get this fight to the mat and get into a position to use her favorite arm-triangle choke hold. I think that is exactly what will happen, so I will take McMann to get the win, likely by submission. I also think there is a lot of value in taking the rounds to go under as we get 2-1 odds.
UFC 215 takes place at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta on Saturday, September 9, 2017. The five-fight main pay-per-view card features Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg and Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko.
Main Card (Pay-per-view)
Demetrious Johnson -1248 vs. Ray Borg (rounds 4.5 under -125)
Valentina Shevchenko -125 vs. Amanda Nunes (2.5 over -135)
Rafael dos Anjos -200 vs. Neil Magny (2.5 over -130)
Gilbert Melendez -120 vs. Jeremy Stephens (rounds 2.5 over -225)
Ilir Latifi -135 vs. Tyson Pedro (rounds 1.5 under -135)
Preliminary Card (FS1)
Sara McMann -265 vs. Ketlen Vieira (2.5 over -250)
Henry Cejudo -345 vs. Wilson Reis (rounds 2.5 over -270)
Ashlee Evans-Smith -250 vs. Sarah Moras (rounds 2.5 over -257)
Gavin Tucker -275 vs. Rick Glenn (rounds 2.5 over 215)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Alex White -190 vs. Mitch Clarke (rounds 2.5 over -120)
Arjan Bhullar -190 vs. Luis Henrique (rounds 2.5 under -145)
Adriano Martins -455 vs. Kajan Johnson (rounds 1.5 over -180)
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