A matchup between two top-ranked women’s strawweights is the latest addition to the UFC’s first event in 2020.
[autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) will take on [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC), a person with knowledge of the booking told MMA Junkie on Saturday. The person requested anonymity since the UFC has yet to make an announcement.
The Jan. 18 show, expected to be UFC 246, doesn’t have an announced location yet, but is expected to take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected for ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
Gadelha is coming off a unanimous decision win over Randa Markos at UFC 239 in July. She was scheduled to face Cynthia Calvillo at UFC on ESPN 7 next month, but was forced out due to lingering injuries from her previous bout.
Grasso was narrowly edged in her most recent bout and suffered a majority decision loss to Carla Esparza in her home country of Mexico. She did, however, pick up a “Fight of the Night” bonus in defeat. Grasso, like Gadelha, has alternated wins and losses in her past four fights. Both women will be looking to gain some consistency in the strawweight division.
With the addition, the UFC 246 lineup now includes:
- Maycee Barber vs. Roxanne Modafferi
- Drew Dober vs. Nasrat Haqparast
- Grant Dawson vs. Chas Skelly
- Maurice Greene vs. Aleksei Oleinik
- Claudia Gadelha vs. Alexa Grasso
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