Sports Reporter | Capper
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The UFC is back in action after a week off and we have a great fight night card on tap live at the UFC Apex this Saturday night.
The main event has a welterweight clash between two surging contenders as Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady battle it out for a chance to put their names in the mix for a title shot in the future.
In the co-main event, we have a fight in the women's flyweight division between former strawweight champion and flyweight title challenger Jessica Andrade taking on surging prospect Natalia Silva.
Both female competitors will be looking for a statement win as they climb up the flyweight rankings and with that said, let's take a look at the matchup and our Andrade-Silva prediction and pick.
Jessica Andrade (26-12) recently lost three fights in a row to Erin Blanchfield, Xiaonan Yan, and Tatiana Suarez.
She was then able to get back on track in each of her next two fights by knocking out Mackenzie Dern and winning a split decision against Marina Rodriguez.
She is at her best when she's able to be the aggressor and make her opponents fight off their back foot. By doing that, Andrade can start to land her power shots and when she connects flush on the chin she can put anyone's lights out that goes for Silva as well.
For this matchup, Andrade will need to kick Silva's calf to slow down her movement and then cut off the angle of the Octagon so that she can't just keep circling. If she can do that and let her hands go, don't be surprised if she scores the knockout upset this weekend.
Natalia Silva (17-5-1) is looking like a legitimate title contender winning all five of her fights inside the Octagon.
At just 5 wins in the UFC she already has wins over mainstays in the flyweight division like Viviane Araujo, Andrea Lee, and Jasmine Jasudavicius
Silva has taken the flyweight division by storm with her 5 wins in the UFC and looks like she can contend with the best the UFC has to offer.
She now gets to showcase her skills against a former champion and title challenger in Jessica Andrade this weekend in hopes of getting the biggest win of her career.
In this fight, Silva is going to need to use her speed and length to stay on the outside and pick apart the smaller and ultra-aggressive Jessica Andrade at range.
If she can avoid taking big shots from Andrade and use her kicks to punish her as she comes within range, Silva can outstrike Andrade with ease to either a late finish or a unanimous decision for a statement win this weekend.
This should be a great co-main event fight between two of the division's best fighters Jessica Andrade and Natalia Silva. While Andrade is a bonafide hall of famer, this is a tough matchup for her. Silva has the size, speed, and striking to pick apart Andrade at range to potentially get a late finish or just outwork her throughout the fight to get the nod on the judge's scorecards.
FINAL ANDRADE-SILVA PICK & PREDICTION: NATALIA SILVA (-320)
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