Preview: UFC on ESPN 57 Prelims

Women’s Flyweights

Andrea Lee (13-9, 5-7 UFC) vs. Montana De La Rosa (12-9-1, 5-5-1 UFC)

ODDS: Lee (-142), De La Rosa (+120)

The UFC has made a recent habit of booking rematches of fights from years past, and this marks another one, as Lee and De La Rosa revisit a 2019 encounter won by “KGB.” Both fighters were still clearly on the upswing at the time—in fact, both were still undefeated in the UFC when they first met—but things are interesting for opposite reasons this time around. Both fighters have obviously improved, but they are struggling to keep up with a division that’s also rapidly improving around them. Lee gained some hype almost immediately upon her professional debut in 2014 but needed a few more years to round into shape. Advertised as a standout striker, Lee can be a bit plodding at times, actually making her more effective when a fight turns into a physical grind. Lee’s win over De La Rosa proved to be a bit of a high-water mark professionally, as it gave way to three straight losses. While Lee rebounded with two straight wins in 2021 where she looked her sharpest, she now rides a four-fight losing streak into this rematch. Lee has seemingly found more of a flow as a striker, but again, that hasn’t helped her much relative to the rest of the UFC’s flyweight division. With the promotion signing faster and stronger athletes, Lee hasn’t found much of a margin of error to turn her stronger performances into winning rounds. De La Rosa’s in a similar spot. Clearly a standout wrestler and grappler at the time she first fought Lee, she has done well to develop a credible striking game that keeps her in fights on the feet. However, De La Rosa has also hit a clear physical wall in terms of strength and particularly speed. As a result, the worry is that she isn’t even pressing her wrestling as much as she should. Neither woman runs away with things, so this should be a relatively even fight no matter who has the advantage, but Lee still seems to be more persistent, as well as the stronger athlete. In a repeat of the first fight, the pick is Lee via decision.

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