Ketlen Souza

a couple of levels ahead

Souza is a heavy-handed, forward-pressing striker the analyst believes can beat almost anyone at range, backed by a grappling game used mainly to create separation and scramble back to her feet rather than to control a fight on the ground.

He forecasts a specific "comfortable decision" (quote, 3 words) with a guessed scorecard, a confident, unhedged call.

A good, forward-pressing striker with solid leg kicks, real power and body work. Her grappling is called good too, with decent top pressure, scrambling and the ability to attack submissions to scramble back to her feet, though the analyst audibly second-guesses whether that grappling grade should sit a notch lower. She is viewed as the better fighter almost everywhere this fight could take place, outside of a pure strength contest.

leaning her, could still flip

As of 2026-02-01 she presses forward behind solid pop, leg kicks and body work, mixing her attacks across all three levels. The analyst is explicit that his read of her has risen: he says he was previously down on her and that her grappling, which he used to see as bad, now looks like a real weapon -- she goes after submissions as a way out, regains standing position from there, scrambles well, and has decent top pressure if she ends up on top.

expects Rodriguez to out-work her for at least two of three rounds on the strength of the takedown exchanges, despite conceding some rough moments, and settles on her as the pick without much drama.

A solidly rated striker who marches forward behind real power, sharp leg kicks and steady work to the midsection. Her ground game trails behind -- decent top pressure is about the extent of it, with little else shown attacking or defending on the mat.

He gives a real mechanism (her durability lets her 'land more' as the fight wears on) but calls the matchup 'a tricky one' twice and says he'll 'watch the line' rather than fully commit to backing her as the favorite.

A come-forward power striker who throws with good forward pressure, power, leg kicks and body work, and has already outperformed what the betting markets expected of her once. Her grappling is just decent, mainly decent top pressure, a real hole in her game but not a severe one. As of 2025-02-11.

He states the striking gap should not be close and explicitly names this his single most confident pick of the entire card, with no hedge on the winner.

A good forward-pressure striker with good power, leg kicks and body work; her grappling is decent, with very good top pressure if she gets on top. The analyst bumped her striking up a rung from his last look at her, but says so with real doubt -- unsure whether that reflects genuine growth or just a favorable matchup last time, and flags she could get moved back down after this fight. As of 2024-09-11.

Names Souza twice as the pick but discloses he is rooting for Mann and says he wants to be proven wrong.

A decent, forward-pressing striker whose leg kick and body work are specifically flagged as trouble for a short, compact opponent who fights with her hands low. Has a decent top game in grappling, but the analyst wants her to keep the fight standing rather than test her opponent's better grappling. Picked as a sizable underdog despite the analyst's stated personal preference for the other corner.

He commits to Silva directly, after explicitly weighing Souza's own skills and concluding the other woman is simply the better fighter across most areas -- a genuine comparison, not a bare pick.

Souza is read as a powerful, come-forward striker who throws heavy hands and heavy leg kicks, with a good BJJ game of her own on the mat -- though described as less aggressive there than Silva. The analyst explicitly weighs her skills as genuinely good before concluding Silva is simply better across the board.