Miesha Tate

He gives an affirmative reason for the pick -- a trajectory read that Santos has more left to give -- with nothing that walks back the win itself.

Good striker who works her jab well with pretty good kicks and combinations, but her striking defense is lacking -- he says she gets touched up and bleeds from the nose almost every fight because she is not blocking shots down the middle. Good grappler with decent takedowns, good control and a strong ability to take the back once the fight hits the mat, which he calls her clearest advantage if she can get it going. He does not think she has looked the same, in drive or form, since coming back from retirement.

Pick stated plainly, with a real mechanism (Avila's volume/aggression and "miles left in the tank" versus Tate's); both are graded good across striking and grappling, which reads as a close technical comparison rather than a hedge, and no qualifier is placed on the win itself.

Miesha Tate is read as a strong, well-rounded grappler -- decent takedowns, good control, a credible path to the back and rear-naked choke -- and a good striker with simple, effective combinations and a quick front kick as her best weapon. The analyst calls her the probable better pure grappler of the two, even while rating both fighters' grappling as good overall. Both fighters are noted as returning after an extended period away from competition.