Alexia Thainara

Named clearly as the pick, with the grappling path spelled out as the route to a finish.

An undefeated-in-five prospect who avenged her only career loss in a rematch and now jumps straight into a veteran with power. Her clearest route is the grappling: a body-lock takedown that drives opponents down hard, then heavy ground strikes and elbows once she's landed. The one flaw flagged is willingness to dive in without regard for what comes back -- eventually someone makes her pay for it, just maybe not this time.

Picked to win a rematch she lost the first meeting of, with the analyst saying she's improved a lot since then.

Presses forward constantly, throwing a heavy jab-cross and piling up volume as she comes. She isn't the more technically refined striker in this pairing, but her pressure and power offset that, since making the opponent stand still and stop advancing wrecks their own strategy. Where she truly separates herself is on the mat -- her signature move is a body lock into a trip, and rather than settling into an opponent's guard afterward, she passes it almost immediately, an advanced habit few fighters at her level show. Earlier in her career she'd dive carelessly into a downed opponent's guard, exposing herself to up-kicks, but that recklessness appears to have faded recently, an improvement the analyst credits though wants to see repeated. She's effective at advancing position, holds decent top control, and throws nasty elbows.