MMA Preview – Mackenzie Dern vs Angela Hill at UFC Fight Night 224
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MACKENZIE DERN VS ANGELA HILL FACTS
When is UFC Fight Night 224? Saturday May 20th March, 2023 - 22:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 224? UFC APEX, Enterprise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 224? Click here to buy tickets for UFC Fight Night
What channel is UFC Fight Night 224 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 224? 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!
MACKENZIE DERN VS ANGELA HILL LOWDOWN
The UFC want Mackenzie Dern (12-3) to be a star as she headlines her third UFC card. She is struggling to break through to the top of the division and is 1-2 in her last three. She lost a unanimous decision to the striking specialist Marina Rodriguez (2021), responded with a split decision win over Tecia Torres (2022) but felt short in a majority decision to Xiaonan Yan back in October.
Now, she takes on the gatekeeper Angela Hill (15-12). She is 10-12 in the UFC but is still fighting near her best. She could not buy a win between 2020 and 2022 going 1-5 but since then she has earnt two vintage unanimous decisions closing the gate on Lupita Godinez and Emily Ducote last year.
MACKENZIE DERN VS ANGELA HILL PREDICTION
Hill may never become the champion. but she continues to add strings to her bow and is a very skilled gatekeeper. Her striking has always been her greatest asset hailing from a Muay Thai background, and it is in a different league to Dern.
However, as we know Dern has the best jiu-jitsu out of any female fighter on the roster and her striking in improving which is helping to set up her takedowns. She will have combinations prepared by Jason Parillo to create the openings she needs to get the fight to the canvas.
Hill’s grappling defence is superb. She will make Dern work very hard for the takedown and if she does hit the deck, her submission defence will also give Dern something to think about.
Although she lost a decision, she fended off the submission attempts from another jiu-jitsu ace in Virna Jandiroba. That said, Dern is simply better and if she has enough time to work with, we back Dern to find a submission.
This all depends on Dern’s takedowns. Hill knows exactly what to expect and will have been drilling her defence over and over again. We can see her frustrating Dern forcing her to throw wild strikes which Hill will welcome by countering.
That said, as this is five rounds, Dern will have more opportunities to drag the fight to the ground or pounce on the back.
We understand why Dern is the favourite, but Hill has a great chance in pulling off the upset with her takedown defence and poking Dern at range with her teeps and hurting her with elbows when she closes the distance.
A Dern submission or Hill Decision are the obvious picks.
Prediction: Dern via Submission
Value bet: Hill via Decision
