Casey O’Neill to Return in March, possibly at UFC London?
Her last outing saw her demolish WMMA veteran Roxanne Modafferi over three rounds, convincingly out-striking her and inflicting heavy damage. O’Neill broke her own record for significant strikes landed in a fight, but still, the fight was not without some drama. Not a single scorecard submitted to MMADecisionsby members of the media gave Modafferi a round, let alone the win. However, one judge inexplicably scored the fight for Modafferi. The partisan US crowd then booed her for spoiling Modafferi’s retirement party – but O’Neill was more than happy to turn heel:
Following the fight with Modafferi, O’Neill signed to fight the now retired Jessica Eye. However, an ACL injury forced her to withdraw. Now, the timetable for her return is set:
O’Neill will look to pick up where she left off.
Whilst an opponent for O’Neill has not been announced yet. We may have a clue as to where she will fight next. Eagle-eyed UK fight fans will have noticed the Union Jack emoji in her tweet. Perhaps we can expect the UFC to return to London in its now traditional March window next year. If it does, O’Neill can count on a huge contingent of Scottish fans in support should she feature at this event.
October is an important month in the flyweight division. Fifth-ranked Alexa Grasso takes on sixth-ranked Viviane Araujo this weekend. Then at UFC 280, number one contender Katlyn Chookagian fights seventh ranked Manon Fiorot. Any of the aforementioned fighters would make sense for O’Neill’s comeback. A fight with former challenger and striker Lauren Murphy would also be highly entertaining.
Move to Strawweight?
O’Neill will return at 125 pounds, but don’t count out her dropping to 115 pounds in the future. She told The AllStar that she only cuts about 3 pounds to fight at her current weight. That approach has worked out extremely well for her so far because she has stormed to an undefeated 9-0 record (4-0 UFC). Any cut to a lower weight would have to be well considered, given some of the negative consequences that come with cutting weight.
There’s also no argument that the 115-pound division is deeper than its 125 counterparts. However, O’Neill would certainly be bigger and stronger than many of the top fighters in that division and would also boast a height and reach advantage most of the time.
Who would you like to see ‘King’ Casey O’Neill fight next? How would she fare at 115 pounds? Let us know in the comments and at @LewisGloverMMA!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
