Tomorrow night at UFC Vegas 21 we will get to see a rematch in the women’s strawweight division. Top contender, Angela Hill (12-9) will try to make it two for two as she battles “The Spider Monkey” Ashley Yoder (8-6) for the second time.
Ashley Yoder has had a very up and down career so far in the UFC. The promotion signed her back in 2016 after she started her career at 5-1. However, she would go on to lose her first three fights in the octagon.
With her back against the cage, Yoder rattled off two consecutive wins before dropping two straight. In November, she snapped her latest losing streak with a win over Miranda Granger. This is a massive fight for Yoder who can secure her spot if she’s able to win tomorrow night.
That said, it’s not going to be easy. In June of 2019, Angela Hill lost a decision to Yan Xiaonan. After that fight, Hill really turned the corner in her UFC career. She won three straight fights, two by stoppage before taking on former title challenger, Claudia Gadelha.
Hill lost an extremely close split decision to Gadelha. Then, the UFC gave her a main event slot against Michelle Waterson and the two put on an absolute show. Again, Hill lost a razor close split decision. Had those decisions gone her way, Hill would be in the conversation for a shot at the UFC title.
UFC Vegas 21 Prediction
Originally, these two were supposed to fight a couple of weeks ago. However, Yoder had someone test positive for COVID in her camp and the rematch had to be moved back a couple of weeks to UFC Vegas 21.
Yoder is the massive betting underdog heading into tomorrow. For Ashley Yoder to win, she has to use her wrestling and try to make this fight dirty. She needs to try and force Hill against the cage and control her with her grappling.
We’ve seen Hill struggle with fighters who have a big strength advantage. However, I’m not sure Yoder has the strength and skill to keep Hill down or against the fence. At range, this fight is all Angela Hill.
While Ashley Yoder doesn’t have bad standup, I strongly favor Hill in the striking. You could make the argument that she’s one of the better strikers in the division. At the end of the day, Yoder is going to put up a tough fight, but Angela Hill is getting her hand raised at UFC Vegas 21.