The women’s flyweight bout at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Rakic features Ji Yeon Kim (#14 ranked flyweight) vs Alexa Grasso (#14 ranked strawweight).
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Both fighters have had an unfortunate time with weight cuts. But they will thank their stars as they have successfully hit the flyweight non-championship limit.
Ji Yeon Kim
The South Korean fighter made weight for the first time since 2018. She fought her last two bouts at catchweight as she missed the flyweight limit by massive margins. ‘Fire Fist’ has two wins at flyweight and lost only once. The defeat came at the hands of a ranked contender, Antonina Shevchenko.
With her weight cut issues a thing of the past and her opponent being a flyweight debutant, Kim will aim to secure a morale-boosting win to cap off a good week.
Alexa Grasso
Alexa Grasso heads into the fight on the back of her third career loss. Last September, the Mexican fighter took Carla Esparza to the judges’ scorecards in a back-and-forth battle.
She will try to be the busier fighter and have the referee raise her hand at the end of the fight. Grasso has claimed four career wins by T/KO, but the last of those came in her Invicta FC days in 2014.
UFC Fight Night: Kim vs Grasso Prediction
Both fighters landed a high amount of significant strikes in their UFC careers. Kim landed 4.49 strikes while Grasso landed 5.25. The latter leads in terms of strike accuracy with 41% compared to her opponent’s 33%.
These UFC stats put Grasso in the driver’s seat as she is the busier fighter and the better striker. She doesn’t have to worry about takedowns as Kim hasn’t landed a single one in her five UFC fights.
The South Korean fighter has the skills to take the fight to the ground. She has claimed three career submissions wins in her pre-UFC days.
Read: UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Rakic Prediction- Anthony Smith vs Aleksandar Rakic
However, Grasso has a strong takedown defense score (63%) if Kim attempts to take the fight to the floor. This will enable her to focus on nullifying the ‘Fire Fist’s’ six-inch reach advantage.
Prediction: Alexa Grasso to win via unanimous decision
