UFC Atlanta Fight Card Odds And Predictions: Namajunas Vs. Maverick
An important women's flyweight scrap serves as the co-main event of Saturday's UFC Atlanta fight card. In that matchup, former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas looks to bounce back from a November loss to Erin Blanchfield while stopping the climb of Miranda Maverick. Maverick enters Saturday's UFC Fight Night event on a four-fight winning streak.
UFC Atlanta takes place on Saturday, June 14, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. In the main event, former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman faces the rising Joaquin Buckley. The main card airs on ESPN at 10 p.m. ET, following ESPN+ streaming prelims at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Rose Namajunas (13-7) was 2-1 and had under two years of professional MMA experience when she fought Carla Esparza for the UFC women's strawweight title on the season finale of The Ultimate Fighter Season 20. Esparza won that December 2014 bout by submission, claiming the inaugural 115-pound title.
Over the next few years, Namajunas was essentially learning on the job, and she learned well, running up a record of 4-1 between October 2015 and April 2017.
In November 2017, Namajunas stepped into the Octagon to face then-UFC strawweight titleholder Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The champ was a -700 favorite on fight night, while the challenger checked in at +500. Namajunas stunned the MMA world that night, scoring an upset first-round knockout win to become the champ. Proving her victory was not a fluke, Namajunas defeated Jedrzejczyk by decision in their rematch in April 2018.
Namajunas lost the title in her second attempted defense when Jessica Andrade scored a slam knockout win at UFC 237. A non-title fight victory over Andrade, who dropped the belt in August 2019 to Zhang Weili, followed. That win earned Namajunas another shot at the title.
In April 2021, Namajunas regained the belt with a perfectly timed head kick to stop Weili in the first round. She defeated the former champ by decision in their rematch in November 2021. Namajunas surrendered the title to Esparza in May 2022 in a tepid performance.
Since losing the title, Namajunas is 2-2 at 125 pounds, losing a decision to Manon Fiorot in September 2023, defeating Amanda Ribas by decision in March 2024 and beating Tracy Cortez by decision in July 2024. In her most recent outing, Namajunas dropped a decision to Erin Blanchfield in November.
Namajunas is the No. 7 ranked UFC women's flyweight fighter.
Miranda Maverick (15-5) joined the UFC in 2020 after spending most of her time with Invicta FC. At the time, she was 7-2 and coming off a 'Performance of the Night' bonus-winning decision win over Pearl Gonzalez.
Maverick opened her UFC career with two wins. The promotion then matched her against another young fighter, Maycee Barber. Barber was on a two-fight losing skid at the time. She ended that run of defeats with a split-decision win over Maverick.
Things did not get any easier for Maverick in her next matchup, as the UFC booked her opposite Erin Blanchfield, who was 1-0 in the UFC, but riding a four-fight winning streak. Blanchfield kept that winning streak intact with a unanimous decision win over Maverick.
Since those back-to-back setbacks, Maverick has gone 6-1 with her only loss being a June 2023 decision to Jasmine Jasudavicius. She is 4-0 in her most recent bouts, and coming off a unanimous decision win over Jamey-Lyn Horth in December.
Maverick is ranked 11th in the UFC's 125-pound division.
When BetOnline first listed the betting odds for this matchup, Namajunas was a -205 favorite over the +155 Maverick. Today, Namajunas is -241, while Maverick checks in as the +206 betting underdog.
Age: 32
Height: 5' 5'
Reach: 65'
Stance: Orthodox
Age: 27
Height: 5'3'
Reach: 65'
Stance: Southpaw
Despite her 2-2 record in her past four fights, there are questions about Namajunas' heading into UFC Atlanta. Most of those questions revolve around her confidence, mindset, and ability to defeat top-level 125-pound competition at this stage of her career. The good thing for Namajunas is that this contest appears to be designed to give her a win.
Namajunas has good footwork and takedown defense. With that, the former champ should be able to thwart Maverick's takedown attempts. Maverick has strong wrestling and ground control, but if she cannot get the fight to the mat, she struggles on her feet. Namajunas has the skills to keep this fight standing.
One worry is that Namajunas has become accustomed to fighting at the pace a five-round fight requires. A slow start in this three-round scrap could hurt her.
The betting pick is for Namajunas to beat Maverick via decision.
We will have more on the UFC Atlanta fight card as fight night nears, and fight night results and reactions on Saturday.
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