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Jennifer Maia, who sits third in the 125-pound table, is currently a huge underdog against defending division champion Valentina Shevchenko.
“Bullet” climbed to a favorite of -1300, but don’t expect that to scare the Brazilian +850.
“I don’t care about bettors,” Maia told MMA Junkie. “I go and play my ‘A’ game and I win the title for Brazil. It would be something that I can’t put into words about beating her. I know it would be an incredible feeling to win over someone like Valentina.
An injury prevented Shevchenko (19-3) from defending his flyweight belt against Joanne Calderwood earlier this year, forcing “JoJo” to eliminate the title against Maia (18-6-1). The movement exploded in her face, as the Brazilian was able to score a submission in the first round and take control of the open place against “Bullet”.
And she plans to succeed where others have failed.
“I’m a complete fighter,” said Maia. “I want to fight and show how superior I am (to other contenders). It’s hard to say how this fight will play out. She’s got a lot of experience, but I’m ready to fight wherever the fight goes and bring that belt to Brazil.
It’ll be the shake-up of the year … or just another name on the 125-pound “results list”.
MMAmania.com to provide live, turn-based, blow-by-blow coverage of the set UFC 255 fight card on Sat night, starting with the ESPN +/ ESPN2 “prelims” must start at 6:30 p.m. ET, before the main PPV card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN +.
For the latest and greatest news and ratings from UFC 255, be sure to check out our full event archive here. For the full UFC 255 fight card: “Figueiredo vs Perez” and ESPN + lineup, click here.
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