In the co-main event of UFC Vegas 81 on October 14, 2023, the #9 ranked women’s flyweight contender Jennifer Maia will face the #11 ranked Viviane Araújo. The former title challenger, Maia, is coming off 2 wins; on the other hand, Araújo is coming off 2 losses.
The women’s flyweight division has opened up since Alexa Grasso defeated Valentina Shevchenko for the title at UFC 285. Valentina was the flyweight champion since December 8, 2018, after she defeated former strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231.
Jennifer Maia made her UFC debut in July 2018, where she lost the fight via unanimous decision to Liz Carmouche. But then she went 3-1 in her next four fights and got the title shot. She fought Valentina for the flyweight championship at UFC 255 but lost a unanimous decision.
🥊 Co-Main Event Thrills! 🥊
Flyweight face-off: Jennifer Maia vs. Viviane Araujo on October 15 at UFC Apex.
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The 36-year-old Viviane Araújo made her UFC debut in May 2019 at UFC 237, where she fought Talita Bernardo. She won the fight via a 3rd round knockout. She was 5-2 in her first seven fights, but she has lost her last two. She is looking to get into the top 10 by beating Maia.
Jennifer Maia vs. Viviane Araújo stats
Stats | Jennifer Maia | Viviane Araújo |
Wins | 21 | 11 |
Losses | 9 | 5 |
Height | 5’4″ | 5’4″ |
Division | Flyweight | Flyweight |
Reach | 64.2″ | 68.2″ |
Age | 35 | 36 |
Jennifer Maia vs. Viviane Araújo Fight Prediction
Jennifer Maia is a good counter-striker and also has the ability to get the clinch and control the fight. With a striking accuracy of 39%, she lands 4.50 strikes per minute. This shows that she does land quite a few strikes per minute with high accuracy. Her takedown accuracy is 21% but her takedown defense is 57% which shows that she doesn’t go to the ground that easily.
Araújo comes from a Brazilian jiu-jitsu background, and then she transitioned to MMA. She fights in a very aggressive Muay Thai style, pressuring her opponents. She also has the grappling ability to take the fight to the ground if need be. She has a striking accuracy of 47% and lands 4.63 strikes per minute, which is a very impressive statistic. She has a takedown accuracy of 49% and a takedown defense of 83%.
Usually, both of these fighters come out under pressure. Maia does look to get the clinch and work from there, too. So, the way both fighters fight, Araújo will look to pressure Maia into striking, may land some shots, and may get hit a few times before Jennifer Maia wins against Viviane Araújo via Unanimous Decision.