Tomorrow night in the main event of UFC Vegas 55, we will see a pivotal matchup in the women’s bantamweight division. Former bantamweight champion Holly Holm (14-5) returns from a lengthy injury layoff as she takes on surging contender Ketlen Vieira (12-2).
For the former UFC champion, this will be her first fight since October of 2020. A number of injuries have kept Holm out of action, but she’s back and she’s ready to show that she’s ready for another crack at the title.
Entering UFC Vegas 55, Holm has won two straight. The last time we saw her was on Fight Island and she put on a clinic against Irene Aldana. In that fight, Holm truly looked better than ever.
Irene Aldana is a shared opponent between Holm and Ketlen Vieira. Aldana was actually the first person to defeat Vieira. Vieira started her career 10-0 which included wins over Cat Zingano and Sara McMann.
Injuries set her back and she went 1-2 in her next three. However, she looked better than ever in her last fight. Vieira took on former UFC champion Miesha Tate and won a unanimous decision.
UFC Vegas 55 Prediction
I’m very interested to see how both of these fighters look tomorrow night. Vieira looked better than ever back in November when she defeated Miesha Tate and Holm looked sensational when she defeated Irene Aldana.
However, being 40 years old and having this lengthy of a layoff isn’t ideal for the UFC champion. That being said, if anyone can bypass that, it’s someone with the experience and pedigree of Holly Holm.
Throughout Holm’s career, she’s shown really solid takedown defense. I think she’ll need that tomorrow as I can see Vieira trying to take her down. For the most part, I’m expecting this fight to take place on the feet.
Not sure if I see a finish, but instead I think we see a technical points battle. With that in mind, I really like the former UFC champion in this spot. While Vieira has really nice pop in her shots, I think she’ll be at a speed and technical disadvantage.
I’m expecting Holm to remain on her bicycle throughout the fight and frustrate Vieira. When the scorecards are read, Holm will pick up the decision win and likely get herself in line for another shot at the UFC bantamweight title.
Prediction: Holly Holm by Decision