Chiasson vs Mesquita at UFC 334: Length vs. an Unbeaten Ground Game
Macy Chiasson stands 5'11" with a 72-inch reach. Bia Mesquita is 5'6" with a 67.5-inch reach. On November 14 at Madison Square Garden, the #9 and #11 women's bantamweights meet at UFC 334, and the numbers frame it as length against a fighter who lands 81% of her significant strikes on the ground.
Brazil's Mesquita, 35, is 8-0 and nicknamed "The Lady GOAT." Six of her eight wins came by submission (75%), with one knockout and one decision. Her UFC rates jump off the page: 3.57 takedowns and 3.57 submission attempts per 15 minutes, 4.52 significant strikes landed per minute against just 1.27 absorbed, 57% accuracy and 71% striking defense. The caveat is sample size. She has landed just 57 significant strikes in the UFC, and her average fight time is 4:12.
Chiasson, also 35, is 11-6 and spreads her wins around: four knockouts, four decisions, three submissions. She lands 3.21 significant strikes a minute at 46% accuracy and absorbs 2.76, with 45% striking defense. She averages 1.87 takedowns and 0.39 submission attempts per 15 minutes, defends 63% of takedowns, and her fights average 10:54. The clinch is a real part of her game: 31% of her 490 significant strikes land there, 48% at range and 21% on the ground.
Both women have three first-round finishes. The difference is where they want the fight to happen. Mesquita has landed 46 of her 57 significant strikes on the mat and none in the clinch, while Chiasson carries five inches of height and a 4.5-inch reach advantage. Chiasson, in the UFC since November 2018, also has the edge in pop: a 0.20 knockdown average to Mesquita's zero, and 36% of her wins by knockout. Mesquita answers with efficiency on the shot, completing two of her four takedown attempts.
It comes down to this: can Chiasson use her frame and her clinch work to keep the fight upright, or will Mesquita get it to the floor, where she lands four of every five strikes?
UFC 334 gets underway with the early prelims at 5 p.m. local time, followed by the prelims at 7 p.m. and the main card at 9 p.m. Grab your seat: UFC 334 tickets in New York.