MMA Preview – Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Jessica Penne at UFC 265
KAROLINA KOWALKIEWICZ VS JESSICA PENNE FACTS
When is UFC 265? Sunday 8th August, 2021 - 01:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC 265? Toyota Center, Houston, Texas (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC 265? Click here to buy tickets for UFC 265
What channel is UFC 265 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC 265? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
KAROLINA KOWALKIEWICZ VS JESSICA PENNE LOWDOWN
Karolina Kowalkiewicz (12-6) has had quite the fall from grace from suffering her first loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the strawweight title back in 2016 to experiencing a four-fight skid. After her title fight loss, she got submitted by Claudia Gadelha (2017) and responded with two decision wins over Jodie Esquibel (2017) and Felice Herrig (2018) but those were her last wins. She suffered one of the most brutal knockouts in strawweight history courtesy of Jessica Andrade (2018) and then lost unanimous decisions to Michelle Waterson (2019), Alexa Grasso (2019) and Xiaonan Yan (2020). They are all very tough opponents, and it does not help fighting with Hashimoto’s disease
It was impossible not to be happy for Jessica Penne (13-5) back in April. She only had four UFC fights between 2014 and 2021 due to bans for tainted supplements and a host of illnesses and freak injuries. She won her debut earning a split decision over Randa Markos (2014) on The Ultimate Fighter finale and then lost three in a row. She got TKO’d by Jedrzejczyk (2015) and Andrade (2016) before losing a unanimous decision to Danielle Taylor (2017). After stewing over those losses and her wretched luck, she finally made it to the octagon to earn a spirited split decision over Loopy Godinez.
KAROLINA KOWALKIEWICZ VS JESSICA PENNE PREDICTION
This is great matchmaking, but it will be tough to see one of them lose again. Kowalkiewicz is the better striking hailing from a successful Muay Thai background. She does not have knockout power, but she is technically sound and very dynamic. Penne has average striking but has the edge in the grappling department which she can leverage with her size and power advantage.
She has three inches in reach and two in height on Kowalkiewicz but she will just try and close the distance and look for a takedown. If she does take the Pole down, we cannot see her doing much but she will latch on to her for as long as possible to seal the rounds.
Kowalkiewicz has decent takedown defence and if she can maintain the distance, she will pepper Penne for 15 minutes. She has not looked great for three years, but this is a much kinder match-up than previous opponents and as long as she avoids the majority of takedowns she will walk away with a vintage unanimous decision win.
Prediction: Kowalkiewicz via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
