UFC Fight Night 224: Molly McCann vs Julija Stoliarenko 07/22/2023 Fight Picks, Odds and Preview

UFC Fight Night 224: McCann vs Stoliarenko 07/22/2023 – Women’s flyweight fighters Molly McCann and Julija Stoliarenko lock horns in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 224 on Saturday, July 22 at the O2 Arena. The fight is scheduled for three rounds as the two protagonists look to bounce back from the losses they suffered in their respective bouts. McCann is coming off a submission loss to Erin Blanchfield in her last fight in November 2022 while Stoliarenko lasted 255 seconds before succumbing to Chelsea Chandler via technical knockout in October. McCann and Stoliarenko are determined to secure a win to revitalize their respective UFC campaigns. Online MMA fight odds are already updated and fans are excited to witness the clash to take place and earn more money at the same time.

All eyes on the big boys this weekend 👀@AspinallMMA vs @MarcinTybura#UFCLondon | SATURDAY | Live on ESPN+ 📺 pic.twitter.com/E7zD7ahfZP

— UFC (@ufc) July 17, 2023

Main Card

Molly McCann

McCann (13-5, 6-4 UFC) has been great in her stints in the UFC, winning six of her 10 fights. She won over against Priscila Cachoeira, Ariane Lipski, Diana Belbita, Kim Ji-yeon, Luana Carolina and Hannah Goldy. However, the Liverpool native lasted only 217 seconds as she succumbed to a one-round submission defeat to Erin Blachfield in November. Now, she looks to return to the winning column and boost her status in the women’s flyweight category. McCann faces a tough foe who normally fights as a bantamweight and is three inches taller than her.

In terms of statistics, McCann has knocked out six of her opponents in her career. This includes her last two KO wins against Carolina (KO-3rd round) and Goldy (TKO-1st round). Her specialty is striking as she has been able to land an average of 5.72 strikes per minute. The Liverpool-born fighter has connected on 50% of her significant strikes to the body of her opponents. Her defense against strikes is above average at 63% as she has absorbed 4.9 strikes per minute. In terms of grappling, McCann has averaged 1.67 takedowns per 15 minutes in her UFC career at a takedown accuracy of 35%. She has been able to stop 44% of the takedown attempts against her and has normed 0.52 submissions per 15 minutes.

Julija Stoliarenko

The stint of Stoliarenko (10-7-2, 1-4 UFC) in the UFC has not been good so far. She kickstarted her UFC career with a unanimous decision loss to Yana Kunitskaya. The Lithuanian fighter followed it up with setbacks to Julia Avila (submission) and Alexis Davis (unanimous decision). She would be able to broke the three-fight skid in July 2022 when she forced Jessica-Rose Clark to tap out, 42 seconds into the first round. Stoliarenko, however, lost for the fourth time in five UFC matches in October 2022 when she fell to a one-round TKO loss to Chandler. She needs to beat McCann to boost her UFC campaign and secure more matches in the future.

Stats wise, the Lithuanian is three inches taller and has a four-inch reach advantage that she hopes to maximize in her match against McCann. Stoliarenko has landed an average of 2.75 strikes per minute in her UFC career. The 30-year-old has landed 41% of her significant strikes and absorbed 4.61 strikes per minute. Stoliarenko has defended 44% of the strike attempts against her. In terms of grappling, Stoliarenko has normed 0.7 takedowns per 15 minutes. She has successfully took down only 25% of her opponents and her defense against takedowns is an above average 62%. Her submission average is 1.17 per 15 minutes.