The MMA Daily

A fight in the Women’s Flyweight division, pits Antonina Shevchenko against Cortney Casey. A loser of two-straight and three of the last four, Shevchenko is creeping into a dangerous territory. One in which could see her UFC tenure hang in the balance. At 37-years old, Shevchenko is running out of time to prove that she is one of the very best Flyweight’s. Meanwhile, Casey comes into this fight with a rare opportunity to string together two wins. Something in which has eluded Casey since 2016, as she has only won six of her fourteen fights inside the octagon. Needing to find consistency if she were ever to elevate herself into a contender, perhaps the rise of Casey begins now.

Despite failing to ever establish her presence in the UFC, Casey can be a tough out for anyone. A striker by trade, who lands with volume, Casey is at her best when she doesn’t have to worry about the threat of a takedown. If brought to the mat though, Casey is very active and has a dangerous submission game. Something in which I doubt she will have to utilize much in this fight, as Shevchenko is a pure striker. A technical one at that, who is very accurate. Hampered throughout her career by her lack of takedown defense, Shevchenko has seen all four of her UFC losses come when she was taken down three or more times. Given Casey has landed three takedowns in fourteen fights inside the octagon, I highly doubt Shevchenko will have to worry about that.

In what I consider to be a toss-up, I’m going with Casey. Armed with grit, Casey isn’t afraid to fight dirty and brawl. Active on the feet, even if Shevchenko finds success being more accurate, Casey has a clear volume edge. While I’m not expecting this fight to hit the mat, if it does, Shevchenko may have the size, but Casey has a threating submission game. With everything lining up for Casey to nab her first win-streak since 2016, I predict her to win this fight via decision.