Undefeated women’s flyweight contender, Casey O’Neill is finally making her return this weekend. At UFC 286, O’Neill will fight the former title challenger Jennifer Maia on the main card of the PPV. In the main event, the welterweight champ Leon Edwards will fight Kamaru Usman in the O2 Arena.
Former interim lightweight champion, Justin Gaethje will fight Rafael Fiziev in the co-main event. If the recent UK cards are any indication, then the event will have a brilliant atmosphere as well.
After giving the former divisional champ, Valentina Shevchenko a close fight, Jennifer has not fared well recently. Since the Shevchenko bout at UFC 255, Maia has lost two fights against Katlyn Chookagian and Manon Fiorot. But she also has two wins in the same period, as Jennifer has beaten Jessica Eye and Maryna Moroz. The win against Moroz came in her last fight, so Maia will take some confidence ahead of the O’Neill bout.
Flyweight fight between Jennifer Maia & Casey O’Neill has been promoted from prelims to the PPV main card of next week’s #UFC286 event.
Joanne Wood vs. Luana Carolina has been bumped down to the EARLY prelims.#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/On5idhfak3
— Women's MMA Rankings (@WMMARankings) March 11, 2023
Casey O’Neill has not fought in more than a year. In her last bout, O’Neill defeated Roxanne Modafferi, who retired at UFC 271. Since then, Casey has taken a big break, but she is finally back. With Alexa Grasso beating Valentina Shevchenko for the belt, the top of the division is wide open.
So beating Jennifer Maia and one more top contender afterward, may put her in a great spot for a title opportunity as well. Will O’Neill be able to beat the toughest opponent of her career yet? Let’s find out.
UFC 286: Jennifer Maia vs Casey O’Neill, Stats
| Stats | Jennifer Maia | Casey O’Neill |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | 20 | 9 |
| Losses | 9 | 0 |
| Height | 1.63 m | 1.68 m |
| Division | Women’s Flyweight | Women’s Flyweight |
| Reach | 162.6 cm | 175.3 cm |
| Age | 34 | 25 |
Maia vs O’Neill: Fight Breakdown
Casey O’Neill currently holds a career record of 9-0. Following her MMA debut in April 2019, Casey raked up 5 wins in quick succession and entered the company in 2021. She took on Shana Dobson in February 2021 and defeated her via TKO on her debut. Casey then went on to beat Lara Procopio, Antonina Shevchenko, and Roxanne Modafferi. The 25-year-old currently has a record of 4-0 in the UFC.
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Jennifer Maia, on the other hand, came to the UFC as the Invicta women’s flyweight champ. She made her UFC debut in July 2018. However, she lost her debut bout against Liz Carmouche via unanimous decision. The 34-year-old has 10 fights in the UFC so far and holds a record of 5 wins and 5 losses. She has only 1 finish in the UFC which came via submission against Joanne Wood. Jennifer has not been finished in the UFC either.
As per UFC stats, Jennifer Maia lands 3.98 strikes per minute, with a striking accuracy of only 37%. However, she absorbs 4.35 strikes at the same time as well. She also averages 0.30 takedowns per fight, which is not the most impressive statistic either. It also reflects on her MMA record, as she has 4 KOs, 5 submissions, and 11 decision wins. So she is not the most aggressive fighter in the world either.
But, with Casey O’Neill, the picture is completely different. Although her win against Roxanne Modafferi was via split decision, Casey won the rest of her bouts via finishes. Her stats seem extremely bright in comparison with her next opponent. She lands 8.65 strikes per minute and absorbs 4.68 strikes. So she lands two times the strikes that she absorbs.
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In terms of grappling, Casey secures 2.59 takedowns per bout as well. So her 3 submission wins and 2 KO wins bode well for her heading into the bout this weekend. Judging by the stats, Casey O’Neill should be the favorite to win. However, Maia is often inconsistent with her performances. So it will be interesting to how the bout plays out on March 18.
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