UFC 246 Predictions

There was a point in time where Alexa Grasso was seen as the next big thing at strawweight. Although her rise to prominence has had some unexpected bumps, at 26-years old, she's still got a good few years ahead of her.

Her ground game has certainly improved, but her true bread and butter is her striking. Grasso has some wonderful boxing skills, landing really good jabs and uppercuts to her opponents whenever they give her the opportunity. She's also got some decent kicks too, specifically the left body kick, but her hands are where the real danger comes from.

While she won't have to deal with too much of a striking threat from her opponent, Claudia Gadelha, if the fight goes to the floor Grasso will be in a lot of trouble. Gadelha is an extremely smart grappler who uses crushing top pressure and solid ground and pound to try and break her opponents. If there's one criticism about her grappling, it's that she doesn't finish enough fights when in dominant positions.

If there's one area of her game that Grasso has a weakness, it's during the grappling exchanges. Against a seasoned veteran like Gadelha, she should find it tough to get away from her on the ground.

Claudia Gadelha wins via unanimous decision