1 UFC 286 fighter on the chopping block
Joanne Wood’s three-fight losing skid places her UFC career in jeopardy.
After three tough opponents, of whom all have fought recently for a title, Joanne Wood (15-8) is placed in a predicament if she manages to lose a fourth consecutive time. Wood is scheduled to fight Luana Carolina (8-3) and is slotted to be the third fight of the night in the early prelims for UFC 286. At the age of 37, the once highly touted flyweight might be at the end of the road if she manages to suffer a defeat to an opponent with less caliber.
Wood will be fighting close to home and for the first time in the UK since 2017 when she faced Cynthia Calvillo in Glasgow, Scotland as the co-main event. She has fought the top and the toughest of the flyweight division but the results haven’t gone her way with losing four out of the last five and being finished in three of those contests. With losses to the champ, Alexa Grasso, Taila Santos, and Lauren Murphy, who are all ranked in the top 10, she will respectively face a step down in competition to get back on track.
Yearning for another win and her first one in two years, Wood's biggest deficiency in her fights has been her grappling and to her benefit, Carolina is primarily a striker. With her striking acumen and her opponent having one takedown attempt in her five-fight UFC career, this matchup will mostly be handled in the standup and the clinch.
Luana Carolina looks to bounce back from a devastating KO with a win in UFC 286
Carolina returns to the octagon shy one day of a year after being brutally knocked out via spinning back elbow by Molly McCann at the O2 Arena in London, England. Before the viral finish and the clip being replayed over and over again last year, she was on a two-fight winning streak, and this Saturday she goes back to where it all happened and looks to avenge her previous loss.
With a significant reach advantage of four inches and an age discrepancy of seven years younger, Carolina will use her range, energy, and activity to capitalize on Wood’s weaknesses and attempt to put a pace on her to secure a win.
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