Kyle Anthony

THE PLAY: Tracy Cortez -104

Tracy Cortez stands out as both an appealing presence and a highly skilled wrestler. Her primary strategy revolves around taking opponents to the mat, establishing dominant top control and steadily accumulating it round after round. Once in a favorable position, she maintains it effectively through strong positional awareness and control. Although striking is still a developing aspect of her game it has shown clear progress with more technical boxing combinations. While Cong Wang excels as a rangy striker who generates solid volume from distance. She strings together crisp combinations supported by good footwork and prefers operating in open space where she can fully utilize her tools. However, her takedown defense represents a significant weakness heading into this matchup.... which aligns directly with Cortez’s greatest strength. A notable concern was on display in Wang’s most recent bout against Eduarda Moura. Cong entered as a heavy -325 favorite finding herself in an extremely competitive fight. Over 3 rounds Moura successfully landed 3 takedowns and amassed more than eight minutes of control time, marking the first genuine test of Wang’s ability to handle sustained wrestling pressure. Cortez ranks as the superior wrestler compared to Moura and will likely pursue the path of least resistance. While betting lines remain relatively close due to Tracy’s recent 1-2 record over her last 3 fights and was unable to get her wrestling going. With that said, she faced exceptionally tough competition in Erin Blanchfield, Rose Namajunas, Jasmine Jasudavicius, and Melissa Gatto. Each are strong wrestlers themselves capable of neutralizing Tracy's wrestling attacks and shutting down her primary path to success. That dynamic shifts dramatically this Saturday against Cong Wang, a dedicated striker with limited experience against strong wrestlers. The constant danger of takedowns should create openings for Cortez to land strikes and seamlessly transition into takedowns behind her combinations. As the younger fighter with more MMA experience and a clearly defined route to victory, Tracy Cortez possesses the tools to secure the win.

A nice bounce back spot at a pick'em price tag.