Fresh off of winning the Invicta FC Phoenix Rising one-night tournament, Brianna Van Buren will make her Octagon debut at UFC Sacramento on short notice against former Invicta champion Livia Renata Souza
The UFC is coming to Sacramento, California, on July 13 in the Golden 1 Center. The card is set with Aspen Ladd vs. Germaine de Randamie headlining the card. UFC Sacramento also has the return of Urijah Faber who will take on the rising Ricky Simon. The event also holds many action-first fighters and a few rising up-and-comers. On the card, former Invicta FC champ, Livia Renata Souza was supposed to take on Cynthia Calvillo. With that said, the injury bug struck and Calvillo had to pull out due to a broken foot. The show must go on and the UFC signed Invicta Phoenix Rising winner Brianna Van Buren to take the fight on short notice.
How Does Brianna van Buren Fare in the UFC:
Van Buren has gone from losing to the likes of Amy Montenegro and Stephanie Eggink to beating former UFC fighters Juliana Lima and Kailin Curran. She’s grown a lot throughout her career and has really developed into a solid well-rounded fighter. “The Bull” is an aggressive fighter who is primarily a wrestler, executing power double-leg takedowns. Van Buren has some excellent top control with good ground-and-pound and an underrated submission attack. Known more for her wrestling, Van Buren has looked very good on the feet lately. She has some quick hands and is always throwing with some nice output. Brianna doesn’t discriminate with her hands as she likes to attack the liver just as much as the head and that’s with her punches and kicks. What sets her apart is just her constant pressure with excellent cardio. She is only 5’0″, which makes her not only the smallest fighter in the strawweight division, but in the UFC as a whole. She will eventually run into a fighter who will use their range so it will be interesting to see how her pressure will do. I still think she’s easily a top 15 fighter.
How She Matches Up with Livia Renata Souza:
A battle between two former Invicta champions, this is a great matchup. Both have started their careers being skilled on the mat, but both have improved their stand up leaps and bounds. Souza is the more dangerous BJJ fighter as Van Buren is the stronger wrestler. Souza doesn’t have the striking IQ to keep Van Buren at bay on the feet so I think Van Buren will have the advantage there. It’s a clash between two good styles in a fight where I’m leaning more towards the wrestler in Van Buren. It’s a close fight but I think the pressure, strength, and wrestling, may edge out the win for Van Buren.
