UFC Vegas 43 is the next event on the mixed martial arts company’s schedule. As with the other events under the same name, it will be held at the UFC’s Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, November 20. The card is filled with a variety of matchups for various weight classes, however, one clash that has a lot of people’s attention is the women’s bantamweight main event between Ketlen Vieira and former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate.
The fight was originally supposed to happen in the middle of October, however, a positive COVID-19 test from Tate forced it to be pushed back to this weekend.
Vieira enters UFC Vegas 43 as the No. 7-ranked fighter while Tate is right behind her at No. 8. A victory for either woman would certainly push them up the rankings. Fortunately, BetOnline’s odds for the fight give a better idea as to what to expect on Saturday.
UFC Vegas 43 Odds: Ketlen Vieira vs Miesha Tate
Odds via BetOnline as of Wednesday, November 17
- Record: Ketlen Vieira (11-2-0) vs Miesha Tate (19-7-0)
- Moneyline: Vieira (-114) vs Tate (-106)
- Total Rounds: 4.5 — Over (-155), Under (+125)
- Method of Victory: Tate by points (+140)
The complete odds list, including props, is available at BetOnline.ag.
Vieira Trying to Break Out of Funk
After beginning her UFC career with four straight victories, Vieira has been having a tough go as of late. She was knocked out by Irene Aldana at UFC 245 but followed it up with a unanimous decision win over Sijara Eubanks at UFC 253. Unfortunately, she missed weight for her catchweight debut against Yana Kunitskaya in February 2021 before losing to her by decision.
Now, Vieira will try to get things back on track at UFC Vegas 43.
Despite her recent struggles, Vieira will still walk into Las Vegas this weekend as the -114 favorite. One of the things she has going for her is that Tate has fought just once in the last five years while the 30-year-old Brazilian has been a lot more active than that.
Another thing that would benefit Vieira is if she can take the fight to the ground. She averages 2.16 takedowns and 1.53 submissions per 15 minutes while Tate only has a 52% takedown defense rating. What’s important about this is that three of the latter’s seven career losses have come by submission.
Nevertheless, BetOnline is favoring the fight to go the distance at -175 odds. Considering how Vieira is 5-1 when her fights end in a decision-based result, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine her squeezing out a win at UFC Vegas 43.
Miesha Tate UFC Vegas 43 Odds
After retiring from MMA in 2016, it came as a shock when Tate came out of retirement earlier this year. Naturally, fans wondered how she’d perform after all those years away from the sport. It turns out that she hasn’t lost too much of a step, which was proven by her third-round TKO victory over Marion Reneau on July 17.
Reneau had lost four straight fights ahead of that matchup, so it wasn’t like she was the most terrifying opponent. Nevertheless, it still proved that Tate still won “Performance of the Night” honors and would like to recreate that success on Saturday.
According to BetOnline, Tate’s likely to win this fight by decision (+140). She has an 80% success rate when her fights go the distance and just saw how Kunitskaya was able to outlast Vieira in her most recent fight.
Tate also has experience on her side. While Vieira has been impressive, the former champion holds victories over the likes of Holly Holm, Jessica Eye and Sara McMann. She’s challenged for multiple titles throughout her career which is something her opponent hasn’t done once since joining the UFC. At the end of the day, Tate knows how to take things to the next level and strike with the best of them, which is something Vieira still has to prove.
Unless Tate took a step back since we last saw her, there’s no reason to doubt her heading into UFC Vegas 43. Even if she’s the -106 moneyline underdog, the argument could be made that she should be the favorite instead.
