Kicking off the main card of UFC 307 is a title eliminator in the women’s bantamweight division. Former PFL Champion and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Kayla Harrison (17-1) will look to win her second fight inside the octagon as she takes on second ranked Ketlen Vieira (14-3).
Harrison is currently ranked third one spot behind Vieira, but she’s the biggest betting favorite on the card by a mile. Harrison is the most decorated Olympic Athlete to ever grace the octagon. Harrison was utterly dominant to start her MMA career going a perfect 15-0 capturing two PFL championships.
After suffering her first loss to Larissa Pacheco back in 2022, Harrison bounced back with a win over Aspen Ladd. Then, she made the jump to the octagon and made her debut at UFC 300. She took on Holly Holm and just mauled her in a fight that served as Harrison’s bantamweight debut. Harrison scored a second round submission.
Back in 2018, Ketlen Vieira was looked at as a serious title challenger. She had gone 10-0 in her first ten fights and had defeated former title challengers Cat Zingano and Sara McMann. However, after nearly a two year layoff she returned and was knocked out by eventual title challenger Irene Aldana.
Since then, she’s gone 4-3 inside the octagon. However, since 2021, she’s 3-1 with wins over Miesha Tate and Holly Holm. Her lone loss came against current UFC bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington.
UFC 307 Prediction
There is a reason why the odds are what they are. Per DraftKings this morning, Kayla Harrison is a -1100 favorite. In my opinion, I think she should be a bigger favorite than that. I have no idea how Ketlen Vieira can win this fight. Vieira is not a sniper on the feet and her striking isn’t sensational.
She relies on fighting with a lot of forward pressure and bullying her opponents to the ground. She’s not going to be able to do that against Harrison. If she tries to clinch with Harrison, she’s going for a ride via a judo throw. I also don’t think Vieira will be able to stop Harrison from taking her down in general.
On the feet, I actually like Harrison’s explosiveness and speed. I wouldn’t be shocked to see her hurt Vieira on the feet at UFC 307. At the end of the day, this isn’t going to be a close fight and Harrison will take one step closer to her inevitable spot atop the bantamweight division.
Prediction: Kayla Harrison by TKO