Promising flyweight prospects square off in this excellent fight.
Cortez’s 2019 win over Mariya
Agapova was not overwhelmingly impressive, but it was clearly
enough to earn her a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Between Cortez’s marketability and her inspirational life story of
fighting in her brother’s memory, she was clearly a prospect worth
picking up; and while she has not maintained a particularly active
schedule, she has impressed during her trips to the Octagon. A
strong wrestler, Cortez found some surprising success in two UFC
wins at bantamweight before moving back down to 125 pounds against
Justine
Kish in 2021. Some cracks started to show in Cortez’s game
against Kish—she missed weight and faded late in the fight, and
while she is a willing and solid striker, she gets hit a lot in
return—but there is a lot of obvious natural talent. Perhaps she
can show some new wrinkles against Gatto. Brazil’s Gatto signed
with the UFC in 2019, but injuries and a drug suspension delayed
her debut until August, over two years after she first signed.
Frankly, Gatto’s regional film did not paint her to be a
UFC-caliber fighter. Beyond a submission win over Karol Rosa
in a fight where she was clearly outclassed up to that point,
Gatto’s success came either via questionable decisions or over the
lowest level of competition. With that backdrop, she was one of the
most pleasant surprises of 2021. Cutting down to flyweight in the
UFC has put her at enough physical parity that her wrestling and
grappling work much better, and she obviously used her layoff to
improve her striking to a quite effective level. She broke Victoria
Leonardo’s arm in her UFC debut, and after outlasting and
scoring a brutal body kick knockout of Sijara
Eubanks in December, Gatto is shockingly one of the best
prospects in an increasingly deep division. She should also be a
tough challenge for Cortez, particularly if the DWCS alum’s cardio
issues hold over from the Kish fight. Gatto is a venomous enough
grappler to either dissuade Cortez from wrestling or make her work
to control the fight on the mat, and at this point, the Brazilian
looks like the more potent and effective fighter on the feet.
Cortez could just prove to be a stronger athlete and take things
over, particularly since Gatto can often be content to stay on her
back and work for submissions. However, the bet is that Gatto
proves too slippery and gets in plenty of effective offense.
FEELY'S PREDICTION: Though both women are fighters
to watch going forward, the pick is Gatto via decision.
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