An exciting matchup awaits in the opening fight to the prelims in UFC 297 as Gillian Robertson faces Polyana Viana in a women's strawweight bout. This battle will take place in the preliminary card on Saturday, January 20, at 8:00 PM ET in Toronto's Scotiabank Arena, where Robertson holds a moderate favorite status with a -320 moneyline.

Robertson has gone 2-2 in her last four battles, with a recent defeat in her last fight. This was a unanimous decision defeat against Tabatha Ricci at UFC on ABC 5 in June of last year.

Her fighting resume shows 12 wins that have been composed of one knockout, nine submissions, and two decisions. She has earned three first round finishes so far in her wins. She also has six of her eight losses coming by decision.

“The Savage” strikes with an accuracy at 45 percent and lands takedowns at 41 percent. She is getting 2.60 significant strikes landed on her opponents, but unfortunately takes on 3.21. This is not a good ratio to have if she plans on winning.

Robertson has some ground activity with 2.46 takedowns and 0.92 submissions per 15 minutes of fight time. She also defends about average with a 56 percent success rate against significant strikes and a 44 percent rate against takedowns.

Viana has also gone 2-2 in her last four battles, showing that both fighters have bad momentum heading into this one. Her recent battle was a second round arm-triangle choke submission defeat against Iasmin Lucindo at UFC on ESPN 51 in August of last year.

She has put together 13 wins, which are composed of five knockouts and eight submissions. Impressively, 12 of her 13 wins have ended in the opening round of action. In addition, four of her six losses have come by decision.

“Dama De Ferro” lands 42 percent of her strikes and 33 percent of her takedowns. She delivers 3.19 significant strikes and is absorbing 2.63 each minute of action. This is a respectable rate of success here and could be the difference in this fight.

Viana puts up 0.93 takedowns and 2.09 submissions per 15 minutes of action. She also defends against significant strikes at 55 percent and against takedowns at 44 percent.

MyBookie showcases the betting odds for this fight in UFC 297, with Gillian Robertson as a moderate favorite to succeed. In order to maximize her potential payout, bettors should consider putting her in a parlay with other fights on the night or choose a prop bet that best fits your betting style. 

This could easily go Viana’s way, but look for Robertson’s experience to give her a slight edge.