Bantamweight fighter Lucie Pudilova will return to the UFC for her second run in the company at UFC 278. She will fight Yanan Wu on the main card of the upcoming UFC PPV. Lucie has won 5 fights out of her last 6 and is on a 2-fight win streak. On the other hand, Yanan has lost all 3 of her last fights against Mizuki Inoue, Joselyne Edwards and Mayra Bueno Silva.
Wu’s tenure in the UFC has been riddled with failure. She came into the promotion with a record of 11-1. The Chinese fighter had lost only to Yana Kunitskaya in 2016 before joining the UFC. However, she has lost 4 of her 5 fights in the promotion. Her only UFC win came against Lauren Mueller in November of 2018. So Yanan has not won a fight inside the Octagon in almost 4 years.
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Lucie Pudilova, on the other hand, is getting another chance to prove herself in the UFC. Her previous run in the UFC lasted from 2017 to 2020. During that period, she went 2-5 in the promotion. Her only wins in the promotion came over Sarah Moras and Ji Yeon Kim. She was on a 4-fight losing streak before getting axed from the company in 2020.
UFC 278, Yanan Wu vs Lucie Pudilova: Stats
Stats | Yanan Wu | Lucie Pudilova |
---|---|---|
Wins | 13 | 13 |
Losses | 5 | 7 |
Height | 1.73 m | 1.73 m |
Division | Women’s Bantamweight | Wednesday Bantamweight |
Reach | 167.6 cm | 171.4 cm |
Age | 26 | 28 |
Yanan Wu vs Lucie Pudilova: Fight Breakdown
Neither Yanan Wu nor Lucie Pudilova is currently at the championship level. While one fighter has already been cut from the promotion once, the other may very well suffer the same fate depending on the result at UFC 278. So, which fighter will be the favourite to get the job done this Saturday? Let’s find out.
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Yanan Wu has 12 career wins with 6 knockouts and 5 submission wins. Lucie, on the other hand, has 13 career wins with 2 knockouts and 2 submissions. While the Chinese fighter has only 1 decision win on her resume, the Czech fighter has 9 wins via decision in her career. So it shows the difference in their approach to fighting.
Pudilova lands 4.15 strikes per minute while absorbing 4.09 strikes. She possesses a takedown defence of 61%. Wu, on the other hand, absorbs 5.05 strikes per minute while landing 4.42. One interesting fact about the fighters is that both have one stoppage loss each in their career. While Pudilova’s loss came via submission, Wu lost via KO.
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Hence, the fight becomes about which fighter can implement their game plan better. Wu will definitely try to take the fight to the ground and attempt to get a submission win. Lucie will try her best to keep the bout on the feet and outstrike Yanan to clinch a decision win. The momentum is certainly with Pudilova. So she will be the smart pick for this weekend.