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Get the inside dirt on the early fights from UFC 240 out of Edmonton, featuring a clash of prospects in Canada’s own Gillian Robertson and Brazil’s Sarah Frota.
I’m a big fight fan. I can almost always find a reason to tune into an event, whether a regional card or a UFC produced event. I can find reasons to tune into the early prelims for UFC 240 for myself without a problem. Trying to convince others to tune in… that’s a completely different story. I see a pair of women with potential to grow into contenders down the road squaring off. I see a former featherweight contender looking to reinvent himself in a new division… and I’m not talking about lightweight, but welterweight. I see a pair of debuting heavyweights with promise. However, to most fight fans, these contests are just filler. I’m sure there will be some that will call me hater pointing out most people don’t care about these fights. Others will accuse me of sucking up to the UFC for my positive outlook of these contests. Whatever. Can’t please everyone….
The early prelims begin on ESPN+ and Fight Pass at 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT on Saturday.
Gillian Robertson (6-3) vs. Sarah Frota (9-1), Women’s Flyweight
Robertson has come along nicely in her UFC career, going 3-1 since entering the promotion less than two years into her professional MMA career. She’s proven to be a skilled grappler on the mat, securing each one of those three UFC victories via submission, opponents continuing to underestimate her grappling prowess. Robertson doesn’t get enough credit for her wrestling either as it isn’t the most technically sound. However, she makes up for that with her doggedness, often finishing on the second, third, or even fourth effort. Her striking features a lot of lateral movement and a lot of room for improvement, though many of her problems there can be traced to a short reach. Nonetheless, she is improving.
Frota came across as a major bully in her UFC debut, stalking a much smaller Livia Souza. However, that fight was also at strawweight and Frota missed weight… badly. By seven pounds. There is concern she won’t be able to utilize that strategy at flyweight with larger opponents, but she has fought plenty of times at that weight in the past and didn’t change her style. She still marched down her opponents and looked to throw bombs. Despite the reputation she gained from her brutal KO on the Contender Series as a hard hitter, more than half of her victories have come via submission. In other words, she’ll prove to be a tougher matchup for Robertson than many would think.
While I like Robertson’s progress, Frota doesn’t have a hole in her game comparable to Robertson’s past opponents. Robertson has also shown a tendency to be overaggressive on the ground, leading to the lone loss on her UFC ledger as Mayra Bueno Silva slapped on an armbar after Robertson was dominating from the top. She’ll struggle to even get that position on Frota. There is a possibility Robertson could clip Frota on the feet as the Brazilian is quite reckless, but that seems to be the less likely outcome. Frota via submission of RD2
As for the rest….
- It’s hard to state how Kyle Stewart could have had a worse UFC debut, submitted in less than half a round by an opponent considered by many to be just another name on the UFC roster. To Stewart’s credit, Chance Rencountre has proven to be better than that, but it still doesn’t explain Stewart’s complete lack of takedown defense. He takes on a former featherweight in Erik Koch. Granted, Koch was a large welterweight six years ago, but now we’re talking 170 pounds compared to 145 and he has never been much of a takedown artist himself. Can he take advantage of Stewart’s Achilles heel? I’m not convinced he can. Add in Stewart’s significant size advantage, Koch’s lack of activity – he’s fought three times in the last five years – and questionable defense, I’m going with the natural welterweight. Stewart via TKO of RD2
- Tanner Boser is a unique heavyweight prospect, which is why opinions are so divided on him. He isn’t a hard hitter for the weight class, nor is he a great athlete. What Boser does have going for him is excellent cardio – despite what you’d think with his prodigious belly – and solid technique. He makes his debut at the same time as Giacomo Lemos, a hard-hitting Brazilian who has yet to face any competition of note. Boser’s experience and ability to keep the fight standing – Lemos GnP is where he best operates – should allow him to drag Lemos into deep water and outwork him. Boser via decision