MMA Preview – Loma Lookboonmee vs Lupita Godinez at UFC Fight Night 198
LOMA LOOKBOONMEE VS LUPITA GODINEZ FACTS
When is UFC Fight Night 198? Saturday 20th November, 2021 - 21:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 198? UFC APEX, Enterprise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 198? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC events
What channel is UFC Fight Night 198 on? BT Sport 2
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 198? 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!
LOMA LOOKBOONMEE VS LUPITA GODINEZ LOWDOWN
The first Thai fighter to grace the UFC Loma Lookboonmee (6-2) heads out for her fifth UFC fight hoping to go 4-1. Let’s hope she is the first of many Thai fighters as who does not like a traditional Muay Thai skill set? She snuck past Aleksandra Albu (2019) with a split decision on her debut but then lost a unanimous decision to the fellow Muay Thai specialist and UFC veteran Angela Hill (2020). She then flew out to Fight Island later that year and earnt her own unanimous decision over Jinh Yu Frey and followed it up with another over Sam Hughes back in May this year.
Lupita Godinez (6-2) is back again for her fourth outing of the year filling in for Cheyanne Buys. She lost a very close split decision to Jessica Penne on her debut back in April but bounced back with a ruthless submission over Silvana Gomez Juarez in October. She then made the quickest turnaround in modern UFC history turning up a week later at UFC Fight Night 195. She moved up a weight class and replaced Sijara Eubanks to fight Luana Carolina who rallied after the first round to earn a unanimous decision.
LOMA LOOKBOONMEE VS LUPITA GODINEZ PREDICTION
Although stepping up on short notice did not work for Godinez last time, she is fighting in her natural strawweight class. We knew her route to victory against Carolina was to utilise her grappling and she started the fight well but the Brazilian’s significant size advantage paid dividends allowing her to fend Godinez off and pepper her from range.
This is exactly what Lookboonmee needs to do as the superior striker. She can grapple as we saw against Hughes who she took down four times. However, she got her down using her Muay Thai trips from the clinch which were a thing of beauty, but Godinez will not stall around in the clinch.
We expect Godinez to shoot in for blast doubles and single leg takedowns to avoid the clinch. There will inevitably be some sort of tie up which will be interesting to see Godinez’s power vs Lookboonmee’s technique. However, we expect the Mexican’s explosiveness and power to get Lookboonmee down and when the fight does hit the mat, Godinez has the strength and technique to keep her there.
Lookboonmee will make this competitive especially as her wrestling is improving. However, Godinez will not respect her knockout power and feel confident to shoot in, grab a hold of her and take her down. She will have to watch out for the Thai knees, but we are backing Godinez’s grappling to seal the deal and may just wrap it up with a submission.
Prediction: Godinez via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
Value Bet: Godinez via Submission
