Fights come together fast these days, and if you blink, you can easily miss them. In Fight Roundup, we bring you the latest reported matchups to keep you up to date with what’s on the horizon.
All bouts featured have been officially announced or confirmed with MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, and Damon Martin from people with knowledge of the matchups.
Alexa Grasso and Viviane Araujo are quickly climbing the flyweight ladder, but they’ll have to fight each other to advance further.
The two are set to fight at a UFC Fight Night on Aug. 13 at a location to be determined. Grasso (14-3) currently holds the No. 9 spot in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings, while Araujo (11-3) sits at No. 11.
Grasso has thrived since moving up from 115 pounds, scoring consecutive wins over Joanne Wood, Maycee Barber, and Ji Yeon Kim. In her most recent outing this past March, Grasso defeated Wood by first-round submission.
Araujo has seen similar success, winning three of her past four outings. She defeated Andrea Lee by unanimous decision this past May to improve to 4-1 in the UFC’s flyweight division (excluding a loss in a catchweight bout in which her opponent Jessica Eye missed weight).
The bout was first reported by MMA FIGHT UNIVERSE.
Bantamweight veteran Brian Kelleher returns to the 135-pound division for a bout with the up-and-coming Mario Bautista at UFC Vegas 57 on June 25.
New York’s Kelleher (24-13) had been aiming for a spot on the July 16 UFC Long Island card, but he’ll settle for an earlier date with Bautista (9-2). “Boom” has been bouncing between the featherweight and bantamweight divisions over the past two years and is 4-3 in his past seven outings. He is coming off of a first-round submission loss to Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 272.
Bautista looks to get a win streak going after defeating Jay Perrin by unanimous decision this past February. It was the third win in four fights for Bautista.
Bautista’s management was first to announce the bout.
A pair of promising lightweights are booked to fight at UFC 277.
Ignacio Bahamondes (13-4) and Ludovit Klein (18-4) are set to face one another at the upcoming pay-per-view card in Dallas, the second appearance of 2022 for both fighters.
This past February, Bahamondes made it two straight wins with a third-round submission of Rong Zhu. Both of Bahamondes’ UFC victories have come by finish in Round 3.
Klein most recently snapped a two-fight skid and improved to 2-2 inside the octagon with a split nod over Devonte Smith at UFC 272. “Mr. Highlight” has scored 16 of his 18 career victories by knockout or submission.
The bout was first reported by ESPN Deportes.
“The Warrior Princess” is about to dive into “Baby Shark”-infested waters.
Cheyanne Vlismas (7-2) and Tabatha Ricci (7-1) will fight at a UFC event on Oct. 1, with a location still to be determined. The matchup pits two strawweights coming off of back-to-back wins against each other.
Vlismas’ two UFC wins have come against Mallory Martin and Gloria de Paula. After a loss to Montserrat Ruiz in her debut, Vlismas rebounded with a first-round knockout of de Paula and followed that with a unanimous decision win over Martin.
Ricci also fell short in her UFC debut, succumbing to strikes in a loss to Manon Fiorot. She has bounced back with decision wins over Polyana Viana and Maria Oliveira.
The bout was first reported by Ag. Fight and Cageside Press.
