Both Holly Holm and Yana Santos (nee Kunitskaya) lost the last time they fought. Another similarity is that neither fighter has fought for a while, possibly not being in their best physical shape. Holm had some kidney problems, while Santos (relatively) recently gave birth.
Holly Holm vs. Yana Santos Odds
| Moneyline | Odds |
|---|---|
| Holly Holm | -220 |
| Yana Santos | +168 |
*Odds taken from FanDuel on Monday, March 20, 2023.
When, Where, and How to Watch?
- Place: AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas
- Date: Saturday, March 25, 2023
- Time: ~10:00 PM ET
- How to Watch: ESPN
41-Year-Old Holly Holm Is Not Giving Up
Holly’s been fighting professionally since 2002. In the early days of her MMA career, she also ventured into other combat sports, namely kickboxing, and boxing. And she was very successful in those. For example, she was the boxing world champion at several points in the early 2010s.
She was also the champ in the UFC, winning the UFC Women’s Bantamweight title in 2015 after beating Ronda Rousey by KO. Since then, things started going downhill for her. After the win over Rousey, she went on to win 4 and lose 6 UFC fights.
Her most recent fight saw her lose to Ketlen Vieira by a split decision in the main event on the fight card. The bout lasted for full 25 minutes, but Holm who was 40 at the time looked well physically. This came as a surprise to some, considering that The Preacher’s Daughter had a layoff of more than a year before that due to kidney problems.
Yana Santos Fighting Her First Fight Since Giving Birth
Last April, Yana and Thiago Santos became parents. Some 11 months after giving birth, the Russian fighter is coming back inside the Octagon. The last time she was there she got destroyed by Irene Aldana in round 1 (TKO), which was her sixth career loss.
She also has one no contest in her portfolio, along with 14 wins. Half of those wins happened by KO/TKO, but we just can’t see her doing the same to Holm. Instead, Yana’s only road to victory on Saturday is to try and win by points.
The bad news for her is that her strongest weapon (striking) is just not good enough to beat Holm. She could try to take Holm to the ground, but she’s not great at wrestling/grappling. The proof is that her takedown accuracy is just 53%. Meanwhile, Holm’s TD defense stands at 78%.
Holly Holm vs. Yana Santos Prediction
Holm is superior to Santos in pretty much everything. The only advantage the Russian has is that she’s eight years younger. Still, this doesn’t mean she’s is better shape than her American rival. And even if she is, it might not matter much as the co-main event of UFC San Antonio is a three-round fight. Even at 41, Holm looks capable of fighting for 15 minutes.
Pick: Holly Holm to win by decision