UFC Fight Night Best Bet: Holly Holm vs Ketlen Vieira

The former UFC Bantamweight champion Holly Holm makes her return to the octagon after a long break hoping to earn another shot at UFC gold. She will be taking on a terrific prospect in Ketlen Vieira who is coming off a victory against one of the greatest fighters in the division. The winner of this bout will most likely get a shot against the champion, and I expect a spectacle.

UFC Fight Night Best Bet:

• Holly Hom vs Ketlen Vieira: Holm to Win by Decision or technical Decision

Odds as at 2 pm May 17th 2022. Odds may now differ.

Holly Hom vs Ketlen Vieira Best Bet

At 40 years of age, Holly Holm is likely looking at her last chance to regain the Bantwamweight title after losing it to Miesha Tate back in 2016. Holm shocked the UFC world in 2015 after KO-ing the undisputed champ Ronda Rousey, but her career took a dive right after, and she has had a record of 5 losses and 4 wins since. She is still the 3rd ranked fighter in the division and victory here would likely guarantee her a shot at the title against the winner of the Pena vs Nunes fight.

Holm is coming off a decision victory over Irene Aldana, but this fight happened nearly 2 years ago, and she has had to withdraw from her last 2 scheduled fights due to health issues and a knee injury. That said, Holm is one of the most lethal strikers in the division and has 19 MMA fights under her belt. She is relentless with her striking and her grappling has also gotten a lot better over the years. Holm is primarily a striker, having started her fighting career as an amateur Kick-Boxer and pro boxer. She has already seen five 5-round fights and I think that her elite boxing and aggressiveness will be enough to get the job done in this fight.

But Ketlen Vieira is also a very dangerous opponent as the 5-th ranked Bantamweight fighter in the division. She is coming off a decision victory over Miesha Tate and has an MMA record of 12 wins and just 2 losses. Her only two career Ls came against tough competition in Irene Aldana and Yana Kunitskaya, but we need talk about the Miesha Tate bout.

The fight was extremely close for the first 4 rounds, and despite doing very well on the feet, Vieira was surprisingly tentative and spent most of the fight on the back foot. This is most likely out of respect/fear due to the fact she was fighting one of the all-time greats in the sport. But Tate was mediocre both in the stand-up and grappling, taking lots of damage whilst also landing just 1 of her 6 takedowns. Vieira is definitely an exciting prospect, but if she comes into this fight with the same approach, she will lose. Holm is a much better striker than Tate and she always seems to be physically ready, despite nearing the end of her career.

I’m picking the more experienced fighter with better striking to come out on top in this one. She is the favourite, which is always a minus in my book, but she doesn’t really have any weaknesses that her opponent can exploit. That said, I expect this fight to be very technical it will definitely take time for both fighters to get into their groove. Both of them have suffered one career KO loss each, but I don’t see either of them getting the finish. The fight will go the distance, and if that’s the case, Holly Holm is as good a pick as any.

• Selection: Holm by Decision or Technical Decision
• Best Odds: 2.00
• Stakes: 4/10

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