UFC Vegas 88: Cory McKenna vs. Jaqueline Amorim Prediction, Pick and Odds

A clash of rising strawweight prospects will commence on the prelims of UFC Vegas 88 as 24-year-old Cory McKenna and 28-year-old Jaqueline Amorim will fight for a potential spot in the divisional rankings.

Though four years younger than her upcoming opponent, McKenna (8-2) has more UFC experience and enters the March 16 bout with a 3-1 octagon record. McKenna will look to extend her win streak to three, a stretch that includes her history-making submission of Miranda Granger at UFC Vegas 59 by becoming the first woman to win with a Von Flue choke in the UFC.

Also a grappler, Amorim (7-1) — a former BJJ world champion — debuted in the UFC in 2023, going 1-1 against Sam Hughes and Montserrat Ruiz. Amorim nearly made history in her recent win over Ruiz by achieving the largest point spread in UFC history with her dominance earning a 10-8 scorecard from two of three judges in both rounds one and two before finding a finish in round three.

With her MMA experience edge and Amorim's letdown performance against Hughes in her debut, McKenna is a slight favorite at closing with the odds going back and forth all week.

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Cory McKenna vs. Jaqueline Amorim odds and round total

Cory McKenna vs. Jaqueline Amorim best bet

As we mentioned, both of these women are brimming with potential with Amorim in particular due to her grappling background. Given the style matchup between two grappling-heavy fighters, I like Amorim as an underdog in this spot, but this same game parlay provides extra value at +240.

Neither fighter is completely inadequate on the feet but for both McKenna and Amorim, their comfort zones are in grappling exchanges. In six combined fights between the two, neither has had a UFC appearance with less than three minutes of control time.

For McKenna, her bread and butter has always been in her wrestling, averaging 2.04 takedowns per fight and over five minutes of control time. However, in her five octagon appearances — including her DWCS fight — McKenna has attempted just two submissions while ceding a combined five from her opponents.

Amorim, while significantly worse as a wrestler, completing just 23 percent of her takedown attempts, is much more aggressive as a grappler, attempting seven total submissions in her last two fights. While still yet to find her first UFC submission, Amorim nearly had one in each of her first two octagon appearances, posing a threat to a wrestler like McKenna.

For as rough as Amorim looked in her debut, the cardio issues appeared to be fixed in her last fight and she still remains a much more talented grappler than most other strawweights. While I like the money line price on Amorim, pairing it with the over 1.5-round total is the best bet of the fight with both women averaging over 13 minutes of fight time in the UFC.

Prediction: Amorim by decision

Best bet: Jaqueline Amorim and Over 1.5 rounds (+240)

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.