The UFC Strawweight division will have a big night this Saturday at UFC 275. Two former divisional champions Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk will go head to head for the second time in 4 years. However, that will not be the only fight from the division this weekend. Liang Na will face Silvana Gomez Juarez in the early prelims of the event.
Liang Na is a young fighter out of China who started her professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) career in 2016. Fighting out of Heilongjiang, China, Na got off to a blistering start in her career. She fought in the promotions such as the Chinese MMA Super League, WLF, and Kunlun Fight MMA. Liang had an 11-fight unbeaten streak until her bout against Liliya Shakirova in 2017.
After the loss to Shakirova, Na struggled briefly as she went 2-3 in her following 5 bouts. However, Na bounced back in 2019 and went on another win streak of 5 fights. After beating Mengnan Liu, She came to the UFC and faced Ariane Carnelossi in her first bout.
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Silvana Gomez Juarez turned pro in March of 2010. However, she has not been the most consistent fighter in her early days. She only fought thrice from 2010 to 2013. But Silvana picked up the pace in 2014 as she fought 3 times in that year. At that point, Gomez was 6-0 in her career.
Silvana suffered her first career loss to Poliana Botelho in 2015. She took a break of 2 years after that as she did not fight until 2017. Before coming to the UFC, the Argentine suffered a loss to Ariane Lipski at KSW in 2018. She ultimately became a UFC fighter in 2021, on the back of a 3 fight win streak.
UFC 275 Early Prelims, Liang Na vs Silvana Gomez Juarez: Stats
Stats | Liang Na | Silvana Gomez Juarez |
---|---|---|
Wins | 19 | 10 |
Losses | 5 | 4 |
Height | 1.65 m | 1.6 m |
Division | Women’s Strawweight | Women’s Strawweight |
Reach | 170. 2 cm | 165.1 cm |
Age | 25 | 37 |
Liang Na vs Silvana Gomez Juarez: Who wins?
As for their recent record, both Liang Na and Silvana Gomez Juarez have been found lacking in the win column. While Na lost to Ariane Carnelossi on her UFC debut, Gomez has lost both of her UFC bouts to Vanessa Demopoulos and Lupita Godinez. Hence both of them will lack confidence heading into the fight at UFC 275.
The Chinese fighter is a veteran in terms of her experience in the sport. Although she is only 25 years old, Na has already had 24 fights. She also possesses a very well-rounded set of skills. Liang has 6 knockout wins and 11 submission wins. Hence, it is evident that she a master at setting up scenarios where she can put her opponent under the threat of submission.
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Silvana on the other hand is predominantly a striker. The 37-year-old has knocked out 6 of her opponents so far and submitted 2. But she does have the tendency of getting caught with submissions as well. Both of her UFC losses came via armbar submission.
Liang Na will have the advantage of height and reach over Silvana Gomez Juarez. Hence she will definitely look to secure an early takedown and let grappling do the magic. Na is also significantly younger than Juarez as well. Hence she will be much more agile as well. An early submission win for Liang seems like the most likely outcome.
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But Na has shown that she can have a dodgy chin when put under pressure. Silvana will try to exploit it as that seems like the best option for her to win on Saturday.