Vieira vs Tate preview & best bets – UFC Fight Night 198

Miesha Tate will make her second appearance since returning to the octagon this year when she takes on Ketlen Vieira in the main event of UFC Fight Night 198. This fight was originally scheduled to take place in October before Tate was forced to pull out of the match due to COVID-19.

Vieira vs Tate fight analysis

Ketlen Vieira (11-2-0) missed weight in her last match against Yana Kunitskaya and eventually went on to lose that fight by decision. Vieira kicked off her professional career with a perfect 10-0 record that included a 4-0 start in the UFC, but since then she is 1-2 over her last three fights with a decision win over Sijara Eubanks sandwiched between her latest loss to Kunitskaya and a knockout loss to Irene Aldana at UFC 245.

Miesha Tate (19-7-0) returned from retirement in impressive fashion in July. Tate dominated her match against Marion Reneau and scored the knockout win I the third round, earning herself a Performance of the Night bonus in the process. Before her retirement in 2016, Tate lost each of her last two matches against Raquel Pennington and Amanda Nunes after having won each of her previous five matches.

Vieira vs Tate main event predictions

Going purely on how good Tate looked in her return to action, the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion should be a convincing favorite with the online sportsbooks. The only knock on the victory is that it came against a 44-year-old fighter who was on a four-fight losing streak. Miesha Tate will get a significant step up in competition against Ketlen Vieira, and this fight should give us a much better idea of just how good Tate really is after her long layoff.

Even after adding the caveat that the aging Marion Reneau was a subpar opponent, we were still quite impressed with Tate’s performance. Tate has always been an excellent grappler, but it was her outstanding striking against Reneau that really stood out. And it’s also what could be the difference in this match.

Vieira has a fairly weak striking game, but has enjoyed success in mixed martial arts due to her strong grappling and takedown defense. The problem for her in this match is that Tate is also a grappler by trade, so it won’t be easy for her to assert her dominance on the ground. Assuming Tate can do enough to stay out of trouble on the mat and get enough striking in to establish her edge in that area of the match, she should be able to grind out enough points to earn the victory.