UFC Vegas 94 Main Event Pick
After a successful night in Denver for the UFC, they return to the much-hated UFC Apex for one of the weakest servings of the year. With 10 of the 12 scheduled fights taking place in the lightweight division or lower, it seems there is a trend that the UFC is leaning towards with these Apex cards. At the top of the bill, a fight between top ranked strawweights looking to get closer to title contention. Read more UFC Vegas 94 main event pick.
Amanda Lemos fell short in her bid for a title in August. Now coming off a win over Mackenzie Dern, she sets her eyes on a winning streak to get back to the top.
Former Invicta FC champion, Virna Jandiroba, aims to make good on her first UFC main event and earn her fourth straight victory.
Will the power punching danger of Lemos come through for her once again? Or will the slow grappling grind of Jandiroba prove too much? Read on to see how these Brazilians match up and who will come out on top.
Hey, while you’re at it, click here to check out our Godzilla Wins Daily Staff Picks! 
Amanda Lemos
After falling short in her UFC debut to the middling Leslie Smith, Lemos took close to 2.5 years away from the game to reinvent herself. And reinvent herself she did, she dropped two weight classes and looked like a completely different fighter. Winning five fights in a row, Lemos propped herself up for a main event against former champion, Jessica Andrade.
She came up short that night but only needed two more victories to secure her first UFC title fight. It was clear in that matchup that she had plenty of grappling holes in her game that needed shoring up, as Zhang put her through the grinder.
In a win last time out, Lemos showcased some defensive grappling improvements as she managed to survive many sticky situations with BJJ ace, Mackenzie Dern. Luckily, she landed enough damage throughout that fight to get her hand raised on the scorecards. Normally we see Lemos finishing her opponents with the big power she possesses.
Also showing an aggressive submission game, Lemos is very dangerous in the opening 1.5 rounds of competition. After that is usually when we see her start to slow down and allow her opponents to take control.
Virna Jandiroba
With an impressive 14-0 record, Jandiroba made her UFC debut back in early 2019 against the former strawweight champion, Carla Esparza. She came up short that night due to the wrestling disadvantage she was at.
She would go on to put together a 3-2 record over her next 5 fights showing that she could compete with the best of them, but it all came down to the stylistic matchup to determine if she would come out on top or not. That run spurred a three-fight winning streak that she is currently on, dominating her opponents the entire way.
Jandiroba’s game largely revolves around her BJJ black belt. During this current three-fight winning streak, she has managed to accrue 25.5 minutes of control time in the 45 minutes she has spent in the cage.
She isn’t this standout wrestler by any means, but she’s found a process to help get her BJJ going. A lot of it has to do with takedowns along the cage. From trips, to throws, to straight up back-takes, Jandiroba has done a great job of applying her control and establishing dominant positions. Her striking leaves a lot to be desired, but luckily, she has never been finished and shown off a good enough chin to eat a few shots to close the distance and get her grappling going.
The Pick
This is a clear striker vs grappler matchup, which usually ends up favoring the grappler. Odds are closer than that would suggest, mainly due to the finishing power that Lemos presents.
Easy to break down, it’s either Lemos landing that big shot early and getting her hand raised or Jandiroba successfully applying her grappling and either smothering Lemos for 25 minutes or eventually finding a submission.
I lean with the latter as I think Jandiroba is very good with applying pressure and forcing her opponents into the clinch and grappling. To get her around -130 is a stellar line. Maybe a small sprinkle on her submission prop wouldn’t be a bad idea, but the bulk of your main event action should be on her moneyline.
