Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jennifer Maia : UFC 255 Betting Preview

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jennifer Maia UFC 255 betting preview

Valentina Shevchenko is one of the most dominant MMA fighters in the world. She is going off as a massive favorite to defend her UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship this Saturday night in Las Vegas when she faces Jennifer Maia in the co-main event of UFC 255.

Valentina Shevchenko (19-3-0) is 12-2 over her last 14 fights and 8-2 in her 10 fights with the UFC. Both of her losses came in competitive fights against Amanda Nunes, the undisputed greatest women’s MMA fighter of all time. Shevchenko is the best of the rest; her elite kickboxing and Muay Thai skills make her one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC. She is undefeated as a flyweight and has reeled off five straight wins in the division, leaving her without any real competition among her peers.

Jennifer Maia (18-6-1) gets the unenviable task of trying to solve Shevchenko this Saturday. Maia looked great in her last fight against Joanne Calderwood, using her jab well to eventually set up a first-round win via an armbar submission. She did however lose her previous fight to Katlyn Chookagian and has lost two of her last five fights overall, leaving many to wonder whether she has done enough to earn this title shot.

Unfortunately there really isn’t much to break down here. Maia is a capable fighter with some nice wins on her resume. But she’s clearly on a completely different tier than Shevchenko and will be outmatched in both the striking game and on the mat.

There isn’t much upside to betting on Shevchenko as a -1700 favorite; this is a combat sport and flukes do happen. The price isn’t right on Maia at +1000 either as her actual odds of pulling off this upset are probably lower than 10-to-1. Look for a lopsided win for Shevchenko in this one, and if you do decide to bet on the champ, take a shot on a win via knockout or throw her into a parlay to shave off some of this heavy chalk.