Preview: UFC 279 ‘Chimaev vs. Diaz’

Women’s Bantamweights

#4 WBW | Irene Aldana (13-6, 6-4 UFC) vs. #10 WBW | Macy Chiasson (8-2, 6-2 UFC)

ODDS: Aldana (-175), Chiasson (+150)

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Amanda Nunes regaining the women’s bantamweight title leaves her once again in need of fresh challengers, which should benefit Aldana with a win here. Aldana came into the UFC with some hype as the promotion decided to push a wave of new Mexican talent, but her early going was a clear disappointment. Her finishing ability dried up against better competition, with opponents like Leslie Smith and Katlyn Chookagian showing aggression and speed that made Aldana look slow and uncomfortable. However, Aldana recovered and quietly stitched together enough success to move her way up a stagnant division, with a 2019 knockout of Ketlen Vieira seeming to mark a turned corner for a potentially fresh contender. That made it all the more disappointing when Aldana essentially got outclassed by Holly Holm in a main event the following year, getting little done on the feet before “The Preacher’s Daughter” pivoted to an effective wrestling-heavy performance. With Aldana’s last win, a knockout of Yana Kunitskaya in which the Mexican looked strong and sharp, she has managed to slingshot herself right back into the title mix. If nothing else, she has now officially found the type of knockout power that makes her more interesting than most of her peers. She does get a tricky pairing with this assignment, as Chiasson looks to be figuring some things out herself. Likely a natural featherweight, Chiasson ran through the 145-pound bracket on “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2018, landing her in the UFC as a neophyte who essentially had to learn on the job. With her long frame, Chiasson can be a bit of a terror when she gets her offense rolling, but she is also prone to being a bit of a mess. Despite her length, she often looks to crash into her opponents and look for a wrestling advantage; sometimes that works, but her height also results in a lack of core strength that can just as often turn the fight against her. Her May win over Norma Dumont was a big step in the right direction. While things eventually turned into an even fight as Chiasson tired, she spent the early part of the bout effectively using her reach to snipe at Dumont from range and jump out to an early lead. If Chiasson can keep that up for 15 minutes, she could just make Aldana appear plodding and pull off a clear upset win. However, with this being Chiasson’s first cut back down to 135 pounds in a while, the combination of her suspect cardio and willingness to wrestle makes it likely that Aldana finds a point where she can both tire and overpower her late in the fight. The pick is Aldana via third-round stoppage.

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Chimaev vs. Diaz
Li vs. Ferguson
Holland vs. Rodriguez
Aldana vs. Chiasson
Cutelaba vs. Walker
The Prelims