Most Likely WMMA Bantamweight Upset In July?

[platypus44]

There will be 3 big fights to sort out the Women's Bantamweight division in July:
1. Tate - Nunes
2. Zingano - Pena
3. Holm - Shevchenko

I assume that Tate, Zingano and Holm are strong favorites. Which fight of the 3 is most likely to result in an upset?
My own inclination is that Nunes is most likely to upset Tate although Tate's recent performances have been stellar and she is likely to survive the initial onslaught. Still - I think Zingano and Holm are very very unlikely to be beaten and so Nunes is the most likely fighter to win an upset.

 

[Vulcan]

zingano hasn't fought in over a year and she isn't getting any younger while pena is entering her prime i pick her

 

[Headkicktoleg]

I'm most upset about them being on PPV cards

 

[M Raid K]

Zingano has not fought since that Rousey loss and so we don't know how she'll look after such a long lay-off. Pena is aggressive and a relatively good wrestler. I wouldn't count Pena out.

Holm and Shevchenko are playing kinda the same game, but Holm is more experienced in circling while Shevchenko mostly moves straight forward, so I expect Holm to win a boring 5-round decision. Don't see Shevchenko getting her down or winnng on points.

Tate-Nunes is a tough one to predict because we've seen her fading in the third round twice and Tate will stay there till the end; but Nunes has shown a damaging power and we've seen Tate dropped by McMann and knocked out by Zingano... Still think Tate will take it over in the championship rounds if she doesn't get blown away early.

So most likely upset would be Pena over Zingano.

 

[platypus44]

Zingano has not fought since that Rousey loss and so we don't know how she'll look after such a long lay-off. Pena is aggressive and a relatively good wrestler. I wouldn't count Pena out.

Holm and Shevchenko are playing kinda the same game, but Holm is more experienced in circling while Shevchenko mostly moves straight forward, so I expect Holm to win a boring 5-round decision. Don't see Shevchenko getting her down or winnng on points.

Tate-Nunes is a tough one to predict because we've seen her fading in the third round twice and Tate will stay there till the end; but Nunes has shown a damaging power and we've seen Tate dropped by McMann and knocked out by Zingano... Still think Tate will take it over in the championship rounds if she doesn't get blown away early.

So most likely upset would be Pena over Zingano.

You may be right. A big wild card is what kind of shape Zingano comes back in. If she is reasonably close to the old Zingano, she should win pretty easily but you are right to ID ring rust as an issue.

 

[Cptn1NSAN0]

Pena.

Thread needs poll

 

[V1000]

Definitely Pena. I don't know what to expect from Zingano this fight. Pena may just be better than she is now.

 

[DaGenius]

Nunes can win but I think meisha is focused on enjoying her moment as long as possible. On grit I still like her to win

Holm is not quite getting a gimmie fight but she is getting a smaller striker who has less UFC experience and is coming off a loss who is no threat to grapple. It's fair to say she is expected to win and I expect she will

Zingano has been out too long for me to feel confident about her. Pena thinks she is both the prettiest girl in the division and the best grappler. She's definitely right on one but if she is the best grappler she can see her path to the championship. I cant call her the favorite but she is the likelier underdog to win

 

[NinjaNiK]

As others have already said, Pena is the most likely upset ... Zingano has had a long lay off, and she put on a lot of weight while she was out too. Not doubting that she can come back and make weight, just making the point that she really let herself go while she was on this hiatus.

 

[conorbless1]

Tate, Zingano and Shevchenko are my picks.

 

[McGeezle]

I think Nunes should finish Tate unless she acts like a retard once she has her hurt (non-stop GnP to the arms)

 

[LithoJosh]

I'm most upset about them being on PPV cards

Except one isn't and the other is a prelim. Sorry we can't provide more large dudes for you.

 

[platypus44]

Nunes would pay off better than 2 to 1 based on on line reports of fight odds. I haven't been able to find odds on the Holm and Zingano fights yet. On the other hand, the pre-fight odds have recently been very poor predictors of outcomes in this division.

 

[Headkicktoleg]

Except one isn't and the other is a prelim. Sorry we can't provide more large dudes for you.

 

[Spycho]

I could see both Nunes and Pena winning those fights.

 

[BigMuffler]

Pena is the likeliest to win due to the age and layoff factor.

 

[Better Every Day]

I listened to an old "Heavy Hands" show recently in which the hosts were in agreement that the stand-up of Shevchenko is superior to that of Holm. Maybe if asked today they would be of a different opinion, but based on that show I think Shevchenko might be the one to pick for an upset.

 

[aerius]

I get that Zingano is coming off a long layoff, but unless she's been sitting around drinking slurpees for the last year it's hard to see her getting rusty enough for Pena to beat her. Pena is strong & aggressive, but man is her technique ever sloppy, the way she was running at Jessica Eye while swinging punches was literally Bethe Correia level.

My pick is Shevchenko. Unless Jackson-Wink has another magic surprise cooked up, this is going to be a straight up striking match and Valentina is better on the feet and has way more experience than Holm. There's less telegraph to her strikes, she throws with better setups & combinations, and she's effective at more ranges than Holly. Shevchenko's main problem is that she's a small BW whereas Holly is about as big as they come. On the other hand, her sister & main training partner happens to be 5'8, southpaw, and a multi-time world champion in kickboxing. Kinda sounds like a certain former UFC WBW champion.

 

[curryjunkie]

if bullet has the right gameplan she could upset holm,or holm will move away for 5 rounds for a points win.
i dont think nunes takes tate or pena beats zingano.

 

[MuyThaiElbows]

I like Cat. She's mean, nasty, and a killer.

Tate vs Nunes is going to be good IMO