Blanchfield Vs. Barber Odds And Predictions

The next fight card on the UFC schedule is UFC Vegas 197, which takes place on Saturday, May 31, from UFC Apex in Las Vegas. In the main event, two of the top-ranked competitors in the UFC women’s flyweight division meet in a pivotal matchup. In that contest, the No. 4 ranked Erin Blanchfield faces the No. 5 ranked Maycee Barber.

UFC Vegas 107 Main Event: Erin Blanchfield Vs. Maycee Barber

Blanchfield (13-2) is the No. 4 fighter in the official UFC women’s flyweight rankings. The 26-year-old Blanchfield was riding a nine-fight winning streak when she faced Manon Fiorot in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card in March 2024. Fiorot won that bout with ease, ringing up three 50-45 scores from the judges. The victory earned Fiorot a UFC 315 matchup against UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, a bout Shevchenko won via decision.

Blanchfield took a step back toward a title fight in November when she scored a decision win over former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas.

Barber (14-2) is the No. 5 fighter in the UFC women’s 125-pound division. She opened her UFC career with a 3-2 record, but is undefeated since dropping back-to-back decisions to Roxanne Modafferi and Alexa Grasso in 2020 and 2021.

The 27-year-old Barber is riding a six-fight winning streak heading into UFC Vegas 107. Her most recent victory was a March 2024 decision win over Katlyn Cerminara.

Barber was schedule to face Rose Namajunas in July 2024, but she dropped out of that fight due to illness. Barber later revealed she had Epstein-barr virus.

In December she told Morning Kombat, “Everything’s going great now. It has been a long journey. I was so bummed when – well, first of all, I was so excited to fight Rose because not only was I fighting Rose, but I was also fighting in Denver where I made my UFC debut. So for me, it was my first main event.

“It was a very huge opportunity for me, and I was so excited and then I was devastated when I was told, ‘Hey look, you’re not going to fight on this card.’ Obviously the health is more important. So I was very devastated, but I have made a lot of progress coming forward, and I can’t wait to be back.”

UFC Vegas 107 Main Event: Erin Blanchfield Vs. Maycee Barber Betting Odds And Line Movement

When the betting lines for Blanchfield and Barber opened, Blanchfield was listed as the -200 betting favorite over the +150 Barber. Today, Blanchfield is listed at -238, while Barber is the +203 betting underdog.

Odds via BetOnline.

UFC Vegas 107 Main Event: Erin Blanchfield Vs. Maycee Barber Predictions and Picks

Blanchfield uses pressure and striking to get the fight to the mat. While her strikes are not all that powerful, Blanchfield is not a fighter who looks for knockouts. Instead, Blanchfield uses her high-output striking attack to put her opponents on the back foot and then look for takedowns. In her last outing, Blanchfield attempted eight takedowns while picking up nearly nine minutes of control time.

Barber is a better technical striker than Blanchfield, and she has four knockout wins under the UFC banner. She lands at a good clip and has better striking accuracy than Blanchfield, but her takedown defense is worrisome, as Andrea Lee went five-for-five in takedowns against Barber in 2023.

The betting pick for the UFC Vegas 107 main event is for Blanchfield to be very active with her wrestling and ground control to pick up the decision win over Barber.

We will have more on UFC Vegas 107 as fight-night approaches.