Preview: UFC 290 Prelims

Women's Strawweights

Yazmin Jauregui (10-0) vs. Denise Gomes (7-2)
Odds: Jauregui (-390), Gomes (+295)

This should be an entertaining scrap between two young guns at strawweight. Yazmin Jauregui is leading the latest wave of Mexican prospects to hit the UFC, and she's impressed in her two UFC bouts thus far; she's an absolute hellcat with the level of pressure and volume that she puts on her opponents, and has yet to meet the fighter that can keep up with her over three rounds. Iasmin Lucindo gave it a game effort in both women's respective UFC debuts last August, but Istela Nunes folded come the second round; up next is Denise Gomes, and the 23-year old Brazilian might be Jauregui's toughest test yet. Gomes had a breakout 2022, to say the least; she started the year as a relatively Unknown Fighter, but stepped in on late notice to win Invicta FC's flyweight title in her first fight of the year, which in turn set her up to earn a contract on the Contender Series. Gomes has typically fought with a basic but effective pressure game built around leaning on her toughness and physicality, which hit a wall against Loma Lookboonmee in her UFC debut - but her follow-up effort against Bruna Brasil in April was a promising sign that Gomes is starting to put some things together as far as keeping up a pace and taking the initiative rather than relying on outlasting her opponent. Those gains are enough to make this a much more interesting fight, given that Jauregui tends to eat offense early as she feels things out and that Gomes may have enough strength to her wrestling game to sit on that lead and grind out a win; it might be a tough outing, but the lean is that Gomes can thread the needle and get things done. The pick is Gomes via decision.

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