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UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Gastelum – Jessica Penne vs. Lupita Godinez: Prelims Prediction and Analysis
Jessica Penne is all set to fight Lupita Godinez on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Gastelum. The fight will be highly important for both fighters, as it will be vital for their future in the strawweight division.
Penne is returning to action after almost four years. She last fought at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs Lobov and lost to Danielle Taylor via a unanimous decision. Meanwhile, Godinez is coming into the fight on the back of impressive victories.
This fight will be interesting, as the former Invicta champion and ‘Loopy’ are at completely different stages of their careers and are fighting for different things. Penne would look to make her return special, while Godinez would want to make her UFC debut memorable.
Jessica Penne and Lupita Godinez: MMA Record and Form
Jessica Penne (12-6) hasn’t competed since suffering her third loss in a row in 2017. Two of those three losses came via TKO, which shows her vulnerability against the same.
Godinez on the other hand has a professional MMA record of (5-0), In her last fight, she defeated Vanessa Demopoulos to win the LFA strawweight title. The fighter has won 4 of her 5 fights via decision and defeated Ashlee Mastin via TKO.
What to expect from the fight?
Penne is 38 years old; Godinez is relatively young, as she is just 27. While Godinez has been regularly competing inside the Octagon, Penne has not been active for a long time. However good a fighter, if they don’t regularly compete, they lose their edge. Therefore, Godinez will certainly have the edge at the UFC Apex.
Jessica Penne would do better if she kept the fight short and tried to make Godinez submit, as a long fight would benefit the younger fighter. Jessica Penne’s biggest strength was her grappling, and MMA fans have just seen what Godinez can do to someone like that when she fought Vanessa Demopoulos.
Godinez is great at boxing, and that would certainly be an advantage in this fight, but she would have to nullify a six-inch reach disadvantage. If the fight goes to the mat, then clearly Penne is the favorite. Hence, ‘Loopy’s defense and her ability to maintain distance whilst landing attacks would be paramount to her success.
Prediction: Lupita Godinez wins via second-round KO.
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