There’s not a UFC event this weekend. In addition, there aren’t a whole lot of female bouts in general. However, there are a couple: Bellator 255 features Kana Watanabe and Alejandra Lara, while Mountain Force MMA 24 hosts Brooke Mayo and Akeela Al-Hameed. Let’s take a look at these fights.
Kana Watanabe vs. Alejandra Lara (Bellator 255)
Watanabe enters at 9-0-1, while Lara sits at 9-3 after a really impressive win over Veta Arteaga.
I am so high on Watanabe’s potential. If she gets her striking up to the level where it needs to be, then she has championship potential. The knock against her has been her strength of schedule. She has had a lot of opponents who were very much below her level of experience. However, in her last fight in December 2019, she notched a third-round stoppage of Ilara Joanne to answer the question of what she can do against tougher opposition.