An exciting strawweight matchup takes place on Saturday night at UFC 216 in Las Vegas, as Poliana Botelho makes her UFC debut against Pearl Gonzalez. Botelho has been very impressive in her career, winning five of her six fights, while Gonzalez comes into this bout with a record of 6-2. This fight is one of four on the FXX portion of the preliminary card, leading up to a four-fight main card which features Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee and Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg.
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Pearl Gonzalez (6-2, 0-1 UFC)
Gonzalez lost her UFC debut against Cynthia Calvillo at UFC 210 in April. It is hard to take too much out of that loss for Gonzalez, as she had a huge cloud hanging over her head, as just before the fight the New York State Athletic Commission said she wouldn’t be allowed to fight because of her breast implants. That decision was changed just hours later but the entire situation had to have a negative effect on Gonzalez. She still showed up with a strong effort but lost by submission in the third round.
Gonzalez has been a pro since 2012 and has four wins by submission and one by knockout. She has four first round finishes and she does have a good win on her resume, as she defeated Cortney Casey at XFC 26 in 2013.
Poliana Botelho (5-1, UFC debut)
This will be the UFC debut for Botelho who comes into this fight with a record of 5-1. It is always difficult to judge a fighter coming in off another promotion but there appears to be a lot to like about Botelho. She fought in Favela Kombat and KTAF and picked up a couple of wins. Her only defeat came in Bitelli Combat, as she was beaten by Viviane Pereira. Botelho was signed by the XFC in 2014 and won her debut against Karina Rodriguez. She then defeated Antonia Silvaneide to win the Flyweight Tournament title. Botelho then won the Flyweight title, as she defeated Silvana Gomez Juarez.
Botelho was signed by the UFC and was supposed to make her debut at UFC 206 but she had to pull out due to injury. She ended up being replaced in that event by Pereira.
All five of the wins by Botelho have come by TKO and her one loss was by decision. The only concern for Botelho could be the layoff, as she has not fought since September of 2015.
Botelho is not unfamiliar with UFC fighters, as she helped Miesha Tate prepare for her fight against Holly Holm and Botelho also trains in Brazil with strawweight contender Claudia Gadelha.
UFC Picks
We don’t have a lot to go on with either fighter but there are a few things we can look at. Gonzalez wasn’t able to handle Calvillo in her debut but it was not a bad effort. Gonzalez is a tough fighter who would prefer to work on the mat. Botelho would prefer to keep the fight standing and get the knockout. Botelho also looks to have more experience against top fighters, even if it is just in training. I think Botelho will find a way to grind out a tough win, so I will take her in this fight.
UFC 216 takes place on Saturday, October 7, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are four fights on the main card on pay-per-view, headlined by Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee and Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg. There are also eight preliminary bouts, with four on FXX and four on UFC Fight Pass.
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Tony Ferguson -220 vs. Kevin Lee
Demetrious Johnson -1200 vs. Ray Borg
Fabricio Werdum -250 vs. Derrick Lewis
Beniel Dariush -250 vs. Evan Dunham
Preliminary Card (FXX)
Tom Duquesnoy vs. Cody Stamann
Will Brooks vs. Nik Lentz
Bobby Green vs. Lando Vannata
Pearl Gonazlez vs. Poliana Botelho
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Walt Harris vs. Mark Godbeer
John Moraga vs. Magomed Bibulatov
Thales Leites vs. Brad Tavares
Matt Schnell vs. Marco Beltran
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