Prior to each UFC card, Jay Primetown takes a close look at debuting fighters. In the latest installment, we look at Belgian Cindy Dandois as she makes his UFC debut against veteran Alexis Davis at UFC Fight Night 108 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Cindy “The Battlecat” Dandois
Hometown: Deurne, Belgium
Age: 32
Height: 5-foot-7
Reach: 62 inches
Weight Class: Women’s Bantamweight
Camp: Perfect Team / Xtreme Couture
Career Record: 8-2
Key Wins: Megan Anderson, Jessamyn Duke, Sheila Gaff
Key Losses: Tonya Evinger, Yana Kunitskaya
Background
The former Invicta FC fighter began training in martial arts at a young age. She started with judo at just five years old and moved into freestyle wrestling at the age of eight. Outside of MMA, she is a school teacher as well as trains individuals at Perfect Team Gym in her native Belgium. Dandois is riding a three-fight winning streak with all victories coming by submission.
Strengths
- Does her best work in the clinch
- Capable offensive wrestler
- Decent submission grappler
- Has shown ability to secure submissions from both top position and from the guard
Weaknesses
- Slow, plodding fighter
- Struggles with range striking
- Doesn’t move her head to defend strikes
- Static on the feet
Fighter Grade
Offensive Striking: D-
Striking Defense: D
Knockout Power: D
Athleticism / Speed: D+
Footwork: D+
Chin: D+
Offensive Wrestling: C+
Takedown Defense: D+
Submissions: B-
Conditioning: C
Intangibles: D+
Overall Grade: C- Matchup with Alexis Davis
A fight between two grapplers highlights the Fight Pass portion of UFC Fight Night 108. Both fighters are 32 years of age and have faced decent opposition. However, Davis is certainly the savvier and battle tested fighter. On the feet, Davis has a real advantage. While Davis doesn’t have much power in her arsenal, she’s capable of landing with volume and has proven much more effective in the striking exchanges in her career. Dandois’ striking game is rather limited. She’s slow, has low output with minimal power behind her strikes. While Davis would win a striking exchange, the more likely scenario is that a majority of this fight will take place on the mat. Both fighters are capable of securing takedowns in this bout and whomever dictates the grappling is the one who will likely win this fight. Given Dandois’ submission ability her underdog price of +230 is high. I’m just not sure how she will muster against a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. She’s submitted some decent fighters in the past like Megan Anderson and Marloes Coenen, but a victory over Davis would be a different level. While this is a fight I’d prefer to stay away from, I think there’s some value on the Under 2.5 rounds line. It currently sits at +110 and given each fighter’s ability to secure submissions, there’s a strong chance that this hits.
UFC Ceiling
There isn’t much of ceiling for Dandois. She’s a fighter who has floated with retirement in the past and looks to have extended her career to have fought in the UFC. If she loses decisively to Davis, she may well never fight again. If she’s able to beat Davis, she’ll catapult into the division’s rankings and look to fight a couple of ranked opponents to see just how far she can go in the division.
Fight Film
Check out Dandois in some of her most recent fights…
Dandois vs. Megan Anderson
https://www.ufc.tv/video/cindy-dandois-vs-megan-anderson-invicta-fc-14 Dandois vs. Jessamyn Duke
https://www.ufc.tv/video/cindy-dandois-vs-jessamyn-duke-invicta-fc-18
