The UFC heads to Shenzhen this weekend, marking the first time a title fight will be held on Chinese soil. Current Strawweight champion Jessica Andrade will battle local hope Weili Zhang in the main event, while Jingliang and Dos Santos compete in the Welterweight co-main. We’ll break down both of these fights and identify the best value bets on the board.
Jessica Andrade
The current Strawweight champion, Andrade enters this bout in fantastic form, having been victorious in 7 of her last 8 fights. She has beaten some very tough opponents in this run, including Calderwood, Gadelha, Torres, Kowalkiewicz, and Namajunas. Her last two wins have been particularly impressive, both coming via relatively early knockouts. She is as well-rounded as they come in female MMA, with 7 wins via knockout, 7 by submission, and 6 by decision.
Weili Zhang
The most storied Chinese MMA fighter in quite some time, Zhang enters this bout with a strong 19-1 career record. She only has 3 UFC fights to her name, although she has won each of these quite comfortably. She is another fighter who always looks for the finish, with 16 of her 19 wins coming via KO or Submission. She does have a substantial amount of title fight experiences, competing for the belt 4 times in the Kunlun Fighting Championships.
Prediction: Andrade $1.60
Having competed at Bantamweight previously, Andrade tends to have a noticeable size advantage over her Strawweight opponents. She has elite power and athleticism for the division and is a clear step up over any of Zhang’s previous opponents. She also has the edge on the ground here, giving Zhang very limited offensive options. A finish is the most likely outcome here, although $1.60 for the straight up win ensures all bases are covered.
Li Jingliang
The 31-year-old vet has had a solid career so far, going 16-5 overall and 8-3 in the UFC. He has been in especially strong form of late, emerging victorious in 6 of his last 7 bouts. He is very versatile in terms of method of victory, with 6 coming by Knockout, 5 by Submission, and a further 5 by Decision.
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
The Brazilian veteran has also had a strong career to date, going 21-5 overall and 7-1 in the UFC. He is in the midst of an impressive 7 fight win streak, earning Fight of the Night honours 3 times. He is yet another fighter who tends to push for the finish, with 17 of his 21 wins coming via KO or Submission. His last 3 fights have been especially dominant, all coming via finishes within 7 minutes of action.
Prediction: Dos Santos to Win
While Jingliang will have most of the crowd cheering for him here, Dos Santos is simply the better fighter. He has immense speed and power that his opponent just can’t match and also has an edge should the bout go to the ground. His form has been incredible of late and I can’t see any result other than him continuing this win streak.