UFC Fight Roundup: Cynthia Calvillo booked in do-or-die April 6 matchup with Piera Rodriguez
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 whatâs on the horizon.
All bouts featured have been officially announced or confirmed with MMA Fightingâs Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, and Damon Martin via sources with knowledge of the matchups.
Piera Rodriguez
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Cynthia Calvillo has her back to the wall.
The UFC veteran looks to snap a five-fight losing streak when she takes on Piera Rodriguez (9-1) in a strawweight bout at an April 6 APEX event in Las Vegas. Eurosport was first to report the matchup.
Itâs been a brutal stretch for Calvillo (9-6-1), who showed flashes of being a contender at both 125 and 115 pounds. However, since a unanimous decision main event win over Jessica Eye in June 2020, Calvillo has yet to see her hand raised. Her past two losses have both come via split decision, to Loopy Godinez and Nina Nunes.
Rodriguez also looks to bounce back after an impressive UFC start, which saw her earn decisions over Sam Hughes and Kay Hansen. In her most recent outing, she lost by second-round submission to Gillian Robertson.
Drakkar Klose
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Drakkar Klose vs. Joaquim Silva
Lightweight veterans Drakkar Klose and Joaquim Silva square off at UFC 301 on May 4 in Rio de Janeiro. The bout was first announced by Silvaâs management.
This will be UFC appearance No. 11 for both Klose (14-2-1) and Silva (13-4) and both are coming off of victories at this past Decemberâs UFC Austin event. Klose scored an amazing slam knockout of Joe Solecki to improve his UFC record to 8-2, while Silva earned a unanimous decision over Clay Guida to stay above .500 in the promotion at 6-4.
Klose is currently on a three-fight win streak with six wins in his past seven fights and an impressive showing against Silva could earn him a high-ranked opponent in his next outing.
Ariane Lipski
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Ariane Lipski vs. Karine Silva
Ariane Lipski is on a roll.
The former KSW champion could make it four straight wins when she takes on Karine Silva (17-4) in a flyweight bout on April 27 at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. MMA Hoje was first to report the matchup.
After seeing mixed results in her start with the UFC, Lipski (17-8) has now won three straight fights and four of her past five. The âQueen of Violenceâ kept her hot streak going with a second-round submission of Casey OâNeill at UFC 296.
Silva has been on her own run of brilliance, with an eight-fight win streak that dates back to 2019. That stretch includes Silvaâs first three UFC opponents, Maryna Moroz, Ketlen Souza, and Poliana Botelho, none of whom made it out of the first round against the dangerous Brazilian without tapping out.
Yazmin Jauregui
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Yazmin Jauregui vs. Sam Hughes
Yazmin Jauregui has herself a home date.
The native of Tijuana, Mexico, will have plenty of support in the crowd when she fights Sam Hughes (8-5) in a strawweight bout at UFC Mexico City on Feb. 24. ESPN Deportes was first to report the matchup.
Jauregui (10-1) suffered the first loss of her pro career at UFC 290 this past July, losing by TKO in just 20 seconds to Denise Gomes. Prior to that setback, the 24-year-old prospect had won her first two UFC fights and was previously a tournament champion with Combate Global.
Hughes defeated Jaqueline Amorim via unanimous decision in her most recent outing to pick up her third win in her past four fights. The always game âSampageâ has kept a busy schedule since making her UFC debut in December 2020 and UFC Mexico City will mark her eighth walk to the octagon.
Bryan Battle
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Bryan Battle vs. Ange Loosa
Bryan Battle continues to be one to watch in 2024.
The Ultimate Fighter 29 middleweight winner seeks a third straight win when he fights Ange Loosa (10-3) in a welterweight bout at a UFC APEX event on March 16. Battleâs management was first to announce the bout.
This clash pits two up-and-coming 170-pound fighters against one another as Loosa is also riding a two-fight win streak. After dropping his UFC debut to Mounir Lazzez, Loosa bounced back with decision wins over Rhys McKee and A.J. Fletcher.
Battle (10-2) has hit some obstacles since moving down to welterweight, losing via unanimous decision to Rinat Fakhretdinov and missing weight for a bout with Gabe Green (Battle went on to knock Green out in 14 seconds). In his most recent outing, he submitted Fletcher in Round 2 to improve his UFC record to 5-1.
Also added to the March 16 card, Christian Rodriguez (10-1) moves up to the featherweight division to fight Isaac Dulgarian (6-0). The matchup was first reported by Eurosport.
Despite currently being on a three-fight win streak, Rodriguez struggled to hit the bantamweight mark, missing weight for his past two fights. He now returns to the 145-pound division to face the undefeated Dulgarian, who made a successful UFC debut this past August with a first-round TKO of Francis Marshall.
Davey Grant
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Davey Grant vs. Cody Gibson
Davey Grant could have another Fight Night bonus ahead of him.
Grantâs management announced that the British veteran is set to fight The Ultimate Fighter 31 runner-up Cody Gibson in a bantamweight bout at a UFC APEX event in Las Vegas on March 23.
No stranger to Fight Night bonuses, Grant (15-7) seeks his first since November 2021. Grant was previously on a hot streak having won four consecutive $50,000 bonuses at one point, but is in need of a win now after losing a split decision to Daniel Marcos last July. His UFC mark currently sits at 6-6.
Gibson (19-9) recently returned to the UFC after falling to Brad Katona in the TUF 31 finals. He and Katona were awarded with the Fight of the Night award for their spirited effort and now Gibson has a chance to earn his first UFC win in 10 years.
Julio Arce
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UFC Atlantic City
Three bouts have been added to the UFCâs upcoming return to Atlantic City, N.J., with veterans Julio Arce, Herbert Burns, and Chidi Njokuani in action.
Arce (18-6) makes his 10th UFC appearance and looks to improve on his 5-4 mark when he takes on Burns (11-4) in a featherweight bout (first reported by Eurosport) at the March 30 event. For Burns, he makes his return from injury in a loss to Bill Algeo and aims for his first win since a submission of Evan Dunham in June 2020.
Njokuani (22-10) also faces Rhys McKee (13-5-1) in a middleweight bout (first announced by Njokuaniâs management).
Njokuani has lost three straight fights, most recently finding himself on the wrong end of a first-round TKO courtesy of Michal Oleksiejczuk. The former Bellator standout won his first two UFC fights after earning a contract on Dana Whiteâs Contender Series before hitting his current skid.
McKee recently returned to the UFC this past September, when he lost a decision to Ange Loosa. âSkeletorâ seeks his first UFC win in his second stint with the promotion after going 0-3 in his first three tries.
Also added to the Atlantic City card, Caolan Loughran (8-1) gets a second chance to make a first impression when he fights recent Contender Series signing Angel Pacheco (7-2). Loughran made waves ahead of his UFC debut with his lively fight week comments, but fell short on fight night against French veteran Taylor Lapilus.
Pacheco makes his UFC debut coming off of a loss on the Contender Series. Though the 32-year-old lost a unanimous decision to Danny Silva, both fighters were rewarded a contract after putting on a three-round thriller. MMA Junkie was first to report Loughran vs. Pacheco.
UFC 299
The UFCâs third pay-per-view of 2024 is just around the corner.
Heavyweight contenders Curtis Blaydes and Jailton Almeida headline the event, which features numerous ranked fighters in action including Gilbert Burns, Jack Della Maddalena, Kevin Holland, Katlyn Chookagian, Maycee Barber, Mateusz Gamrot, Rafael dos Anjos, Petr Yan, Song Yadong, and Pedro Munhoz.
Plus, former Bellator star Michael âVenomâ Page and undefeated heavyweight knockout artist Robelis Despaigne make their UFC debuts.
Check out the updated lineup for the March 9 card, which takes place at Kaseya Center in Miami.
Curtis Blaydes vs. Jailton Almeida
Gilbert Burns vs. Jack Della Maddalena
Kevin Holland vs. Michael Page
Katlyn Chookagian vs. Maycee Barber
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Petr Yan vs. Song Yadong
Pedro Munhoz vs. Kyler Phillips
Michel Pereira vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
CJ Vergara vs. Assu Almabayev
Robelis Despaigne vs. Josh Parisian
Cool
Great