UFC Atlantic City continues on the prelims with a fight in the strawweight division between Virna Jandiroba and Loopy Godinez. Jandiroba is coming off back-to-back victories as she looks to make it three in a row meanwhile, Godinez has won four in a row and is looking to make it five when she heads to Atlantic City this weekend. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Jandiroba-Godinez prediction and pick.
Virna Jandiroba (19-3) is coming off an extended absence after she had to withdraw from her fight against Tatiana Suarez due to a knee injury. She is now back in the thick of things in the strawweight division with two consecutive victories against ranked opposition Angela Hill and Marina Rodriguez. Jandiroba will be looking to make it three in a row when she takes on the surging Loopy Godinez this weekend.
Loopy Godinez (12-3) made 2023 her year by making history by winning the most fights in a calendar year in women's MMA history with four. She is now on a four-fight unbeaten streak as she takes on her stiffest competition to date when she steps in there against the former Invicta FC Strawweight Champion and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Champion Virna Jandiroba this weekend at UFC Atlantic City.
Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of BetOnline.
UFC Atlantic City Odds: Virna Jandiroba-Loopy Godinez Odds
Virna Jandiroba: +170
Loopy Godinez: -200
Over 2.5 rounds: -300
Under 2.5 rounds: +240
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Why Virna Jandiroba Will Win
After defending her Invicta FC Strawweight Championship by submitting Janaisa Morandin, Jandiroba went on to face the former UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza in her UFC debut whom she lost to via unanimous decision. Since then, she has gone 6-2, most recently defeating both Marina Rodriguez and Angela Hill, and is now looking to extend her winning streak to three when she takes on Loopy Godinez this weekend.
Jandiroba is coming off a knee injury that halted her fight against the top contender in the division Tatiana Suarez back in August 2023. She will now be making her way back to the Octagon after a 10-month layoff to take on the surging Loopy Godinzez. Jandiroba is always a tough fight for anyone in the division with her nonstop forward pressure and relentless grappling pace. She is a high-level Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Champion with 13 submission victories on her resume and she is by far the most credentialed grappler that Godinez has faced in her career. If Jandiroba can impose her will and just make Godinez grapple with her she can extend her winning streak to three and attempt to get that Suarez fight back in the future.
Why Loopy Godinez Will Win
Loopy Godinez came into her UFC debut with a ton of momentum surrounding her only to drop a highly controversial split decision against Jessica Penne. Since dropping that fight she has gone 7-2, most recently winning four straight fights in 2023 which is a new UFC record for women's MMA. She was highly impressive in her most recent split decision victory over highly touted prospect Tabatha Ricci and will be looking to duplicate that same success against Virna Jandiroba in this matchup.
Godinez now gets to take on her stiffest competition to date Virna Jandiroba who's by far the best grappler she has faced in her career. However, that doesn't mean it will be easy for Jandiroba to just take her down and keep her there. Godinez comes from a wrestling background and has an impeccable takedown defense of 86%. She stuffed all six of judoka black belt Ricci's takedown attempts in her last fight. Normally Godinez likes to utilize her wrestling to hammer her opponents on the mat like she did to Elise Reed but she will be using that area of expertise to keep this fight standing where she should have a massive advantage. If she's able to keep this fight on her feet it should be hers to lose.
Final Virna Jandiroba-Loopy Godinez Prediction & Pick
This should be a great fight between these two flyweight contenders. There have been times when Godinez had a major collapse in fight IQ which had her on the wrong end of some decisions, like when she decided to have a kickboxing match with Angela Hill instead of dominating her on the mat. However, in her most recent victory against Tabatha Ricci, she did a great job at sticking to the gameplan of keeping the fight at range to where she was undoubtedly the better striker. As for Jandiroba, she still is one of the best grapplers in the division but she still has never progressed in her striking, and at age 35 it's hard to believe she has made any strides.
So this boils down to where this fight takes place, if it stays on the feet it's Godinez's to lose but if it hits the mat Jandiroba has the upper hand. Ultimately, it's hard to not take the much younger, stronger, faster, and powerful striker Loopy Godinez to sprawl and brawl her way to victory in this matchup against Virna Jandiroba.
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Final Virna Jandiroba-Loopy Godinez Prediction & Pick: Loopy Godinez (-200), Over 2.5 Rounds (-300)
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