Preview: UFC Vegas 105 Prelims

Women’s Flyweights

Dione Barbosa (7-3, 1-1 UFC) vs. Diana Belbita (15-9, 2-5 UFC)

ODDS: Barbosa (-500), Belbita (+340)

It will be interesting to see when—or if—things fully click for Barbosa. A former standout grappler and judoka, Barbosa has dabbled in mixed martial arts since 2018 and done well against a solid level of competition given her lack of experience, but her career track has somehow been both a bit impressive and a bit disappointing. She has proven to be consistent and almost always a tough out at the very worst, but given her background, it’s a surprising there are none of the quick finishes you would expect from an athlete of her caliber. At any rate, it makes for a package that suggests she just needs experience to develop in the hopes that she suddenly turns a corner in terms of becoming a finishing machine. That might happen here against Belbita. Romania’s Belbita has done extremely well to develop her game over the course of her five and a half years in the UFC. Initially a messy brawler who was in way over her head, she upended her life and training situation to become a much smarter and more patient fighter. However, even as she has gotten some surprising wins and done much better than anyone could have expected given how she looked ahead of her UFC debut, there’s still a clear ceiling. She’s not a standout athlete, particularly now back up at flyweight, and for all her strategic improvements, she’s still not particularly effective on the ground. That provides a clear path to victory for Barbosa, with the main question being exactly how much the Brazilian can blow this fight open. The pick is Barbosa via first-round submission.

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