Preview: UFC Fight Night ‘Hunt vs. Mir’

Women’s Strawweights

Bec Rawlings (6-4) vs Seo Hee Ham (16-6)

THE MATCHUP: This has the makings of a great fight thanks to a fascinating matchup of two very different styles. Despite her opponent’s “Hamderlei Silva” moniker, it is Rawlings who embodies the spirit of the former Pride Fighting Championships middleweight king. All-out aggression is the name of Rawlings’ game, and it is a rare fight that does not see her recklessly bullying her way forward no matter what the opponent throws back at her. Rawlings’ striking vacillates between wild and robotic, based on whether she is caught up in an exchange or trying to create one.

All of that leather slinging invariably leads Rawlings to the clinch, where she is at her best. Working from the double collar tie, Rawlings throws good stiff knees and excels at creating small angles and pockets of space for short elbows. Simply entering the clinch does not tame Rawlings completely, of course. She can become overaggressive, sacrificing position and balance when she senses an opening; and both her striking and takedown defense suffer for it. The gambit has paid off in the past, however. Many of Rawlings’ opponents struggle to deal with her all-out aggression and killer instinct.

Ham is no less comfortable in a brawl, but there is much more flexibility to her game. She has excellent lateral movement. Her sidesteps and pivots allow her to cut off the cage and apply heavy pressure, but she can also fight off of the back foot, slipping and cutting angles to set up well-timed counters. As her record suggests -- 16 wins and not a knockout in the bunch -- Ham is not a powerful puncher, but accuracy and timing force her opponents to respect her hands nonetheless.

With a kickboxing background, Ham prefers striking to grappling, but she is not lost in the clinch or on the ground. Ham often ends up in the clinch after defending takedowns. Using head pressure and the underhook with which she stopped the takedown, she will pin her opponent to the fence and then return to open space. When the opponent does get her down, Ham works to create space and hip escape the moment her body hits the canvas. She is an excellent scrambler and rarely settles for bottom position.

THE ODDS: Ham (-125), Rawlings (+105)

THE PICK: The big X-factor here, as in many of Ham’s fights, is size. A former atomweight, Ham is a full four inches shorter than Rawlings and visibly slighter. Her diminutive stature can help her stuff takedowns and achieve head position in the clinch, but it is hard to imagine Rawlings not having a strength advantage. Still, Rawlings’ recklessness is often her undoing, and Ham tends not to engage where her opponent is strongest. If the Korean can avoid prolonged clinch exchanges and stop Rawlings’ takedowns, then her speed, accuracy and composure will serve her well in the kickboxing battle at range. The pick is Ham by unanimous decision.

Last Fights » The Prelims