Thanks to Arkain for running this thing and good luck to everyone still in it for the prize...
My pick is Rose via first round submission. I was very impressed and a little surprised by Carla's hands and think she will try to implement a similar game plan vs Rose to the one she used against Jessica that includes counter punching and strategically timed, point-scoring takedowns without hanging out for very long in top position. I don't think it will work this time. Carla was able to take advantage of Jessica in this way because while Jessica pressured Carla, that pressure mostly consisted of plodding forward slowly in a predictable manner with pedestrian footwork and little head movement. Jessica never really got the distance right, missed (came up short) on a lot of punches that she didn't really commit to properly, and was countered time and time again by the shorter Carla. Even so, Carla did have some problems and ended up retreating at times under the pressure. Rose's striking is a much different animal than Jessica's. She's fast and fearless and will hang in there throwing volume even if she gets hit by Carla. I think about half way through the first round, Rose will stun Carla on the feet with punches, force her into a desperation shot, and either submit her from the bottom with an armbar or get a reversal and a RNC.
