UFC Vegas 22 is happening this Saturday, and yes, the UFC is still in Las Vegas, at least until that trip to Florida rolls around. The card is headlined by middleweight mainstay Derek Brunson taking on the red hot Kevin Holland. Also on the card is Gregor Gillespie vs. Brad Riddell in the co-main event. There is a married couple debuting on the card in JP and Cheyanne Buys. Cheyanne will be welcoming the fellow debutante Montserrat Ruiz.
Montserrat “Conejo Mad” Ruiz
5’0″
Strawweight
28-years-old
El Paso, Texas, US but born in Leon Guanajuato, México
10th Planet Jiu Jitsu/Kings MMA
9-1
3 KO/TKOs
2 Submissions’
How Ruiz will fare in the UFC:
There are a lot of concerns regarding Ruiz coming to the UFC right now. She’s only coming off a single win, though it was against a good fighter in Janaisa Morandin. Before that, she lost to an underwhelming Danielle Taylor. While Ruiz did build an 8-0 record to start her career, it was against low level competition. Whether she’s UFC ready is yet to be determined, although it’s easy to understand the signing from the UFC’s perspective, as Kay Hansen was originally expected to face Buys but was forced to withdraw.
Ruiz is a primary grappler who does like to let her hands fly. She isn’t technical but with her constant forward pressure and her big overhands, she’s not afraid of a brawl. Ruiz does have good grappling but her wrestling is limited. She isn’t one to attack with single legs, double legs, or trips. Ruiz gets the fight to the mat using the head and arm throw. The head and arm throw in all honestly is 40/60 position. When she does get it to the mat Ruiz does move well on top and has tight grappling. There are too many question marks and it’s tough to trust her to effectively get the head and arm throw at a higher level.
- Striking: C+
- Kickboxing: D
- Clinch: B-
- Wrestling: C+
- Grappling: B
- Striking Defense: C
- Takedown Defense: B-
- Cardio: B-
- Biggest Strength: Grappling
- Biggest Weakness: Striking defense
How Ruiz matches up with Buys:
This fight is going to come down to one question: can Ruiz take Buys down? I don’t see Ruiz being able to take the bigger, stronger Cheyanne Buys down. On the feet, it will be one-sided in favor of Buys. She has nice footwork, solid counter striking, and is always throwing in volume. Buys actually has way better wrestling, which could mean Ruiz fighting off her back, leaving things up in the air. The pick in Buys and I’m confident in that.
