Tag: Ketlen Viera

Raquel Pennington vs. Ketlen Viera teed up for UFC’s first 2023 event

The lineup for the UFC’s first card of 2023 continues to grow with the addition of a new women’s bantamweight bout.

The lineup for the UFC’s first card of 2023 continues to grow with the addition of a new women’s bantamweight bout.

[autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] (14-8 MMA, 11-5 UFC) is set to take on [autotag]Ketlen Viera[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) at the event, which is expected to be UFC Fight Night 217, at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Both fighters confirmed the matchup on their social media accounts following an initial report from MMAFighting.com.

Pennington will put a four-fight winning streak on the line against Brazil’s Vieira. After a rough patch that saw her drop three of four fights, Pennington got on a roll in mid-2020 with a win over Marion Reneaau.

After 15 months away, she returned in September 2021 to beat Pannie Kianzad, then submitted “Ultimate Fighter” winner Macy Chiasson at featherweight later that year. In April, she picked up arguably her biggest win yet when she returned to bantamweight to beat Aspen Ladd at UFC 273.

Vieira has bounced back in the past year after a decision loss to former Invicta champion Yana Kunitskaya. In November 2021, she outworked former champion Miesha Tate in Tate’s second fight since her comeback from retirement. And in April, she beat another ex-champ in Holly Holm with a split decision, giving her wins in three of her past four fights.

With the addition, the UFC’s Jan. 14 lineup now includes:

  • Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nassourdine Imavov
  • Carlos Hernandez vs. Allan Nascimento
  • Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
  • Jimmy Flick vs. Jeff Molina
  • Raquel Pennington vs. Ketlen Vieira

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Ketlen Viera vs. Marion Reneau targeted for UFC 250 in Sao Paulo

Ketlen Viera appears ready to try getting back to her winning ways.

[autotag]Ketlen Viera[/autotag] appears ready to try getting back to her winning ways.

A fight between the previously undefeated Viera and veteran [autotag]Marion Reneau[/autotag] is targeted for UFC 250. A person with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the impending booking on Tuesday but asked to remain anonymous since the UFC has yet to make an announcement.

UFC 250 is scheduled for May 9 at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and will stream on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims likely on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

Viera (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie women’s bantamweight rankings, had been mentioned as a possible title contender at 135 pounds until suffering the first loss of her professional career. Last month at UFC 245, the 28-year-old Brazilian was knocked out by Irene Aldana in the first round to snap her 10-fight winning streak, which included four UFC victories.

Reneau, 42, also will look to get back in the win column. She’s lost her last two fights by unanimous decision to Yana Kunitskaya and Cat Zingano. Last September, Reneau (9-5-1 MMA, 4-4-1 UFC) was scheduled to fight Aldana but withdrew for undisclosed reasons.

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UFC 245 medical suspensions: Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman, others face potential lengthy layoffs

As you might expect, Colby Covington is going to be out awhile after UFC 245. But Kamaru Usman could be on the shelf as well.

Seven fighters are facing lengthy medical suspensions after a hard-hitting night of action at UFC 245.

Both main event combatants, [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] and [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag], face 180-day suspensions for injuries sustained in their back-and-forth main event.

Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC) retained his welterweight championship, but not without sacrificing his well-being. “The Nigerian Nightmare” has been suspended 180 days or until X-ray of left thumb is cleared by physician.

Meanwhile, Covington (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) has been suspended 180 days or until his nondisplaced midline mandibular fracture is cleared by oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

Additionally, newly crowned UFC featherweight champ [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] is up for a potential 180 days suspension as well, for a potentially broken hand suffered against Max Holloway in the evening’s co-main event.

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Four other fighters could see 180-day suspensions for various injuries, including bantamweight contender [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag], [autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag], [autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag], and [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag].

MMA Junkie acquired the full list of medical suspensions from the Nevada Athletic Commission, which you can read below:

  • [autotag]Puna Soriano[/autotag]: No suspension
  • [autotag]Oskar Piechota[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days
  • [autotag]Jessica Eye[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days or until eye injury is cleared by physician; no contact for 21 days due to cut on left cheek
  • [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until x-ray/MRI of right hand and x-ray of right foot and left tibia/fibia are cleared by physician; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
  • [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
  • [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
  • [autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: No suspension
  • [autotag]Daniel Teymur[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days
  • [autotag]Matt Brown[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to cut on left eyebrow
  • [autotag]Ben Saunders[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days
  • [autotag]Omari Akhmedov[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
  • [autotag]Ian Henisch[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
  • [autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag]: No Suspension
  • [autotag]Ketlen Viera[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days
  • Geoff Neal: Suspended for 180 days or until x-ray of left ribs is cleared by physician; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
  • Mike Perry: Suspended 180 days or until nasal x-ray is cleared by physician; also suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days
  • Petr Yan: Suspended 180 days or until x-ray of right foot is cleared by an orthopedic physician; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
  • [autotag]Urijah Faber[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days
  • [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 21 days due to cut on left eyelid
  • [autotag]Jose Aldo/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
  • [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
  • [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
  • Alexander Volkanovski: Suspended 180 days or until x-ray of right hand is cleared by orthopedic physician; also suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days
  • [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to leg pain
  • Kamaru Usman: Suspended 180 days or until x-ray of left thumb is cleared by physician; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
  • Colby Covington: Suspended 180 days or until nondisplaced midline mandibular fracture is cleared by oral and maxillofacial surgeon; also suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days

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