Alexa Grasso

Calls the matchup close and rates Fiorot only "a little ahead" across the board -- a marginal-edge pick, not a decisive one.

Grasso is a strong, mostly-boxing striker who mixes in kicks, moves her head well, and sets a good pace, and she sequences leg and body kicks in either order to keep opponents guessing. She has a title-winning pedigree on the ground, known for taking the back and finishing chokes, and stays active and sub-hungry from guard. Her clearest issue, per the analyst, is that her takedown defense isn't her best attribute, and she can be controlled once taken down.

ever so slightly, really close

The more technically polished striker of this pair -- sharp combinations, fluid head movement and a steady output; she counters very effectively and has a signature low-kick-into-body-kick off her lead leg that racks up numbers on the cards even without doing serious damage. Her ground game is strong as well -- she scrambles well, takes the back well, owns a dangerous rear naked choke (the finish that won her the title), and will shoot for submissions she doesn't expect to land purely to advance position, backed by a very busy guard. The defensive issue is that she can be put on the floor, and once there she sometimes goes quiet. The analyst says she hasn't been the fighter she was on her way up to the belt since she lost it, and that dropping a title tends to cost a fighter something for a stretch afterward.

He gives the pick to Silva but calls the margin very thin, describing it as a close fight and discounting the one scenario -- an extended cage hold -- that he thinks would flip it.

Former champion with a solid boxing-based striking game: good combinations, good head movement, steady volume, and a signature lead-leg double-up (leg kick into body kick off the same leg) that racks up volume and is hard to counter. Her grappling features good scrambles, a good back-take and rear naked choke, and she attacks submissions opportunistically to advance position. Her guard retention is active but the analyst flags that being held down in guard is a losing proposition in MMA scoring regardless of how well she holds it.

He states plainly that he thinks Shevchenko wins based on a cumulative-rounds-won argument across their two prior meetings; the specific crucifix/TKO round call is explicitly framed as a fun, self-described 'wild call' on the method only, not a hedge on the winner.

A solid striker whose game is very boxing-heavy -- very good combinations and head movement, good volume and aggressive pressure, and a very good counter-striking game, all stronger in close punching range than at kicking range. Her best path is framed as staying in boxing range rather than letting the fight go to the clinch. Her grappling is solid: a real back-take and rear-naked-choke threat (how she won their first meeting), good in scrambles, and she uses submission attempts to advance position rather than only to finish. Her takedown defense is a named weak point, tied to a boxer's stance that leaves her a bit more forward and takeable. A specific double-leg-kick combination that worked for her before has reportedly been picked up on by Shevchenko, who now uses it to catch kicks into takedowns. As of 2024-09-11.

The analyst explicitly frames this as a hard call -- weighing the fighter who actually won the first meeting against the one he thinks controlled more of its minutes -- before settling on Shevchenko. The deciding argument is general rather than a specific technical mechanism: he rates her fight-to-fight adjustment ability among the best of any woman on the roster, and trusts she has fixed whatever cost her the first fight. That acknowledged difficulty plus the absence of a named technical edge (as opposed to a clear round/skill case) keeps this at lean rather than clear.

THIS FIGHTER'S ENTIRE TECHNICAL PROFILE SITS UNDER A MISTAGGED BLOCK -- see review_flags; the read below is built entirely from content/board, not the tag. The reigning champion coming off the upset win, now at all-time-high confidence. A fantastic striker with very good combinations, constant head movement, real volume, and real forward pressure -- the analyst specifically recalls her pressuring back against Macy Barber's own pressure and landing big. Doubles up her kicks effectively (leg-to-body, or up to the head) to rack up volume, though that tool carries risk against a kick-catcher like Shevchenko. Solid grappler: good back takes (standing or on the mat), goes for the rear naked choke, good in scrambles and attacks submissions. Her clearest weakness, repeated explicitly, is a genuinely lacking takedown defense, which the analyst attributes to her striking-forward posture leaving her unable to recover and defend the shot.

names this a clear pick, a justified favorite, and feels good about it

A skilled boxer with real punch output, combination work, counters and forward pressure, but her ground game -- while said to be developing -- isn't viewed as championship-caliber yet, which the analyst frames as the gap that makes this a somewhat premature title opportunity.

The pick is immediately undercut: he says he won't be surprised by the opposite result, admits having no strong opinion on this one, and softens his own language across the chapter to leaning by the end -- a direct hedge on the win itself, not just on price.

A boxer first, with good clinch work geared toward dirty boxing rather than wrestling-style control. Volume and accuracy on the feet are her stated route to out-pointing Araujo, especially given Araujo's one-dimensional striking. Her lone recent loss came against a strong wrestler, and she has not had to go past three rounds so far, leaving her later-round form untested.