Preview: UFC Fight Night 230 Prelims

Women’s Bantamweights

Melissa Dixon (5-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Irina Alekseeva (5-1, 1-0 UFC)

ODDS: Dixon (-148), Alekseeva (+124)

The UFC continues to sign bantamweight prospects in the hopes someone breaks through, and it will be interesting to see what these two bring to the table this time around. Alekseeva’s UFC debut in April was a bit of a pleasant surprise. Nicknamed “Russian Ronda” thanks to her judo background and facial resemblance to former UFC champion Ronda Rousey, Alekseeva did not have an impressive batch of regional film but managed to win via kneebar in a shade over two minutes. It was nice to see Alekseeva’s wild aggression pay dividends against her toughest opponent to date, and she looks to repeat that trick against a UFC newcomer in Dixon. England’s Dixon is not the most spectacular fighter, but “No Mess” is coming off some solid wins per the regional standards of the division. She is a fairly slow-paced and pedestrian striker, but Dixon is willing to march down an opponent and pursue a takedown, showing a solid top game to pound out a stoppage in her last fight. Alekseeva is much more dynamic, and it will be interesting to see if Dixon can survive against an opponent this dangerous. However, the Russian’s wild approach leaves enough gaps that the bet is Dixon can find some openings to take this to the ground and grind out a victory. The pick is Dixon via decision.

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