Preview: UFC Vegas 106 Prelims

Women’s Strawweights

Denise Gomes (10-3, 4-2 UFC) vs. Elise Reed (8-4, 4-4 UFC)

ODDS: Gomes (-575), Reed (+425)

Gomes’ breakout 2022 came out of nowhere—the Brazilian started it as a low-level regional prospect and already had one UFC fight under the belt by the end of the year—so it’s not a surprise that the 25-year-old continues to learn on the job. Gomes’ approach is still fairly raw and based around her physicality, which has been enough to get by four of her six UFC opponents thus far. For a bit, it looked like the best of those wins, a quick knockout of Yazmin Jauregui in 2023, was a bit of fools’ gold thanks to the Mexican prospect’s subsequent struggles and Gomes’ next loss to Angela Hill. However, wins over Eduarda Moura and Karolina Kowalkiewicz have shown that “Dee” still has a high floor. Gomes still doesn’t look quite ready for another major jump up the ladder, so this next fight against Reed makes for some solid matchmaking, as it’s a winnable bout that could still be a bit tricky. When Reed can get things going, she’s able to coast out some impressive wins as a sniper from range who can keep her opponents at bay. Yet as someone who started her career as an atomweight, Reed just as often finds herself undersized and lacking in athleticism without much of a way to turn things around against the wrong kind of matchup. Gomes looks to be on the latter side of that spectrum, so she should be able to bully her way to a fairly clear win. The pick is Gomes via decision.

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