UFC Vgeas 80: Grant Dawson vs. Bobby Green continues on the prelims with a fight in the strawweight division between Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Diana Belbita. Kowalkiewicz has turned back the time and is coming off a three consecutive victories meanwhile, Belbita was able to get back into the win column her last time out at UFC 289. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Kowalkiewicz-Belbita prediction and pick.
Karolina Kowalkiewicz (15-7) has looked like a brand-new fighter over her last three victories. Before her current winning streak, Kowalkiewicz lost five straight fights but it seems to have turned back the time looking like her old self as of late. She is set to take on Canadian striker Diana Belbita as she looks to continue her winning ways this weekend at UFC Vegas 80.
Diana Belbita (15-7) was able to get back into the win column in front of her home crowd in Canada at UFC 289 when she defeated Maria Oliveira by unanimous decision. That was her best showing to date in her UFC career and she will take a considerable step up in competition to continue her success when she takes on former strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of DraftKings.
UFC Vegas 80 Odds: Karolina Kowalkiewicz-Diana Belbita Odds
Karolina Kowalkiewicz: -148
Diana Belbita: +124
Over 2.5 Rounds: -425
Under 2.5 Rounds: +300
How to Watch Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Diana Belbita
TV: ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET/ 4:00 p.m. PT (Prelims)
Why Karolina Kowalkiewicz Will Win
Karolina Kowalkiewicz is coming off three consecutive victories for the first time since the beginning of her UFC career where she started out 3-0 before losing a title fight to the champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Her career looked all but over just two years ago when she lost five straight fights but since then she was able to turn back time and look the best she has ever had especially in her most recent win against Vanessa Demopoulos.
Diana Belbita will be looking to get her first big signature win when she steps in against the former title challenger. Belbita is a volume striker who just thrives in a brawl. While that has been effective to some extent during her career, it has also been her downfall as well. Kowalkiewicz is a very technical striker who can make someone like Diana Belbita pay for that type of game plan to keep her winning streak going at age 37.
Why Diana Belbita Will Win
Diana Belbita was able to get the second win of her UFC career when she defeated Maria Oliveira in front of her Canadian crowd at UFC 289. She was able to overwhelm Oliveira with volume outstriking her to a unanimous decision victory. This was the best version of Belbita we've seen in the octagon and she will look to keep this momentum going against her toughest competition to date as she takes on former title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
While Kowalkiewicz is on the downswing of her career she is still a very good technical striker as she showed in each of her last three fights. However, she is still just three fights removed from losing five straight and she hasn't beaten elite competition during her win streak so this could all just be a facade. If Belbita could pressure Kowalkiewicz and make it uncomfortable in there fighting off of her back foot she can certainly score the upset and the biggest win of her MMA career.
Final Karolina Kowalkiewicz-Diana Belbita Prediction & Pick
These two strawweight competitors will be looking for a big win this weekend to move up in the division toward a title shot in the future. Kowalkiewicz has been fighting inferior opposition over her last three fights but has been able to beat them with relative ease when many people believed that her fighting career was over. She was able to punish her opponents at range something that she was able to do earlier in her career and something she will be looking to do here against Diana Belbita. Belbita on the other hand only has a 2-3 record in her time with the UFC and she beat two fighters with a combined UFC record of 2-7 with one of them being released by the promotion.
Ultimately, we all know that Kowalkiewicz has lost a step and hasn't beaten the best of competition as of late but this current state of her should be able to beat any version of Belbita that comes into this fight as she is the much more technical striker and has the experience against high level of competition, so she goes out there and outstrikes Belbita for the majority of the fight for a unanimous decision victory.
Final Karolina Kowalkiewicz-Diana Belbita Prediction & Pick: Karolina Kowalkiewicz (-148), Over 2.5 Rounds (-425)
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