Justine Kish is about a 3-1 favorite to defeat Ji Yeon Kim at UFC on FOX 27 on Saturday night. Kish is 6-1 in her career, but she is coming off a loss to Felice Herrig in June of last year, while Kim is 6-1-2 and coming off a loss to Lucie Pudilova. This fight is one of six on the FS1 portion of the preliminary card, leading up to a four-fight main card that features Ronaldo Souza vs. Derek Brunson. Let’s look at Kish vs. Kim and UFC picks.
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Justine Kish (6-1, 2-1 UFC)
Kish won her first four pro fights before she made her UFC debut in January of 2016. Kish won a unanimous decision against Nina Ansaroff and Kish followed that up with a win over Ashley Yoder in December of 2016. The first loss for Kish in her career happened in June of last year, as she lost a unanimous decision to Felice Herrig.
Kish will have the home crowd edge on Saturday, as she fights in Charlotte. “It does make me a little nervous to know so many people from here are going to be coming to the fight,” said Kish to the Gaston Gazette, “But, to be honest, it could be one person out there or a million people and I’m thinking the same thing. I want to put on a good show every time.” Kish will be fighting in Charlotte for the second time in her career, as she fought Grady Cole as an amateur in 2007.
Kish said that she has been training with longtime coach Jeff Jimmo, to prepare for this fight against Kim. “I usually don’t watch a lot of footage of my opponents,” said Kish, “But I’ve watched a lot of footage on her. We’ve studied it multiple times and I think I’ll have a good strategy.”
Ji Yeo Kim (6-1-2, 0-1 UFC)
Kish has been a pro since 2013. She fought to two draws in her first two pro fights and she is 6-1 since. She has three wins by submission and two by knockout. She has one first round finish.
UFC Picks
The line on this fight is surprisingly high with Kish about a 3-1 favorite. I do think the move up in weight will help Kish, as she looked weak against Herrig and it is always nice to have the home crowd edge. Kim landed some shots against Pudilova in her UFC debut, but still lost a unanimous decision. I lean toward Kish in this fight, but I think it will be a competitive fight and I am definitely not comfortable laying 3-1 in a fight I think will be close. I think playing the rounds is the better way to go. The rounds option is listed at 2.5 with the over listed at -260. Neither one of these two fighters have much power, and I can’t see either one getting a finish unless one of them makes a major mistake and gets caught in a hold. I will take the rounds to go over the total.
UFC on FOX 27 takes place on Saturday, January 27, 2018 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a middleweight rematch between Ronaldo Souza and Derek Brunson as the event headliner. There are four fights on the main FOX card and eight preliminary bouts, with six on FS1 and two on UFC Fight Pass.
Main Card (FOX)
Ronaldo Souza -156 vs. Derek Brunson
Dennis Bermudez -160 vs. Andre Fili
Gregor Gillespie -560 vs. Jordan Rinaldi
Drew Dober -180 vs. Frank Camacho
Preliminary Card (FS1)
Bobby Green -160 vs. Erik Koch
Mirsad Bektic -600 vs. Godofredo Pepey
Katlyn Chookagian -160 vs. Mara Romero Borella
Randa Markos -160 vs. Juliana Lima
Justine Kish -340 vs. Ji Yeon Kim
Vinc Pichel -110 vs. Joaquim Silva
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Niko Price -255 vs. George Sullivan
Cory Sandhagen -200 vs. Austin Arnett
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