By Nolan King

This Saturday night, Titan FC Women’s Bantamweight Champion, Kalindra Faria, makes her long awaited UFC debut.  The 24-fight veteran will debut as part of the UFC 216 main card live on pay-per-view.  If anyone can handle competing on such a big stage in their very first UFC fight, it’s Faria.  

In the past, she’s headlined and competed for some of the biggest MMA promotions outside of the UFC including the aforementioned Titan FC, WSOF, and KSW. Over the span of her journey through the world of mixed martial arts, Faria has also competed against some of the biggest names in WMMA, including Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Jessica Aguilar.

Faria’s opponent on Saturday night, Mara Romero Borella is also a debutant, hailing from Italy and crossing over to the UFC from Invicta FC.  Borella is a powerful striker, but prefers to take her opponents down and utilize ground and pound.  Faria will have to be cautious going into this one.

The Skinny:

Faria is very well-rounded, but her strengths lie in her striking abilities.  Her movement and footwork are above average and her boxing speed and power is a force to be reckoned with.  Faria displayed in her five-round title fight against Carina Damm at Titan FC 41, in a rematch of a bout that had occurred eight years prior.

Looking more closely into Faria’s footwork, what separates her from the rest of the bunch is definitely her angles.  Her prodding pressure and ability to aggressively cut off her opponents’ angles throw any opponent’s rhythm right out the window.  Her push kick is her key to gauging distance and keeping herself in a comfortable position.

Faria’s boxing game is sharp, with combinations often flowing more fluidly and quickly than her foes.  Training out of a great gym in Bronx’s Gold Team, the 31-year-old Sao Paulo native will definitely look to keep the bout on the feet against the Italian grinder Mara Romero Borella.  With that being said, if the bout hits the ground, Faria should be prepared to grapple Borella.

In multiple fights on the regional scene, especially earlier on in her career, Faria went right for the takedown against opponents who she felt were inferior in the grappling department.  The stand-up department isn’t the only realm in which Faria is strong physically.  Despite not utilizing her takedowns on a regular basis, whenever the fight does end up on the ground with Faria on top, she has no problem outmuscling her opposition.

These two debuting flyweights have high expectations to live up to as they will be competing on a pay-per-view main card in their very fight UFC bout.  If anyone can live up to the hype however, it’s these two ladies.  Both women always go for the finish, and have high finishing rates especially for the women’s divisions.  When it comes to the skills and the tale of the tape, the two are pretty evenly matched, which only makes this bout more intriguing.  Don’t be surprised if this one turns into all out ruckus inside the Octagon.