Tag: UFC Fight Night 251

Gregory Rodrigues set for first UFC headliner against former title challenger Jared Cannonier

Gregory Rodrigues gets his first UFC main event slot opposite former title challenger Jared Cannonier in February.

[autotag]Gregory Rodrigues[/autotag] will headline a UFC event for the first time in February against former title challenger [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag].

The UFC Fight Night 251 event on Feb. 15 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas will host the middleweight main event. MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup with two sources with knowledge of the booking following a first report from MMA Mania. The people requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Rodrigues (16-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC) is on the best run of his UFC career as a winner of three straight fights. “Robocop” enters his first main event opportunity following stoppage wins of Denis Tiuliulin and Brad Tavares, which preceded a unanimous decision win vs. Christian Leroy Duncan.

Cannonier (17-8 MMA, 10-8 UFC) will look to end a two-fight skid and start 2025 on a high note in his sixth consecutive main event. In 2024, Cannonier lost both of his fights: a fourth-round TKO loss vs. Nassourdine Imavov and a Fight of the Night unanimous decision loss vs. Caio Borralho. Prior to those setbacks, Cannonier was working his way back to another title shot with back-to-back wins over Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori.

With the addition, the current lineup on Feb. 15 includes:

  • Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues
  • Edson Barboza vs. Steve Garcia
  • Carli Judice vs. Juliana Miller
  • Jacob Malkoun vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Ismael Bonfim vs. Nazim Sadykhov
  • Gabriel Bonfim vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov
  • Jose Delgado vs. Connor Matthews
  • Billy Ray Goff vs. Nikolay Veretennikov
  • Dylan Budka vs. Edmen Shahbazyan

[lawrence-related id=2758686,2521023,2789969]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 251.

TUF 30 winner Juliana Miller withdraws from UFC Fight Night 251

Out since mid-2023, Juliana Miller will have to wait a little longer for her UFC return.

[autotag]Juliana Miller[/autotag] has been out of action for a little over a year, and now she’ll have to wait even longer to return to the UFC cage.

Due to injury, Miller (3-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has withdrawn from her UFC Fight Night 251 bout vs. [autotag]Carli Judice[/autotag] (3-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) that was scheduled for Feb. 15 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The promotion is currently seeking a replacement.

Two people with knowledge of the change, recently informed MMA Junkie of it but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Miller, 28, is winless since she defeated Brogan Walker by TKO to win “The Ultimate Fighter 30” in 2022. With a colorful personality and mic skills, Miller entered her next fight with elevated hype. However, she lost that to Veronica Hardy by unanimous decision. She most recently competed in August 2023 when she was quickly finished with strikes by Luana Santos.

Judice, 25, seeks her first UFC win after a failed debut in June during which she lost a split decision to Gabriella Fernandes. The loss was Judice’s second in a row. She was signed following a split decision defeat to Ernesta Kareckaite on Dana White’s Contender Series.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 251 lineup includes:

  • Ismael Bonfim vs. Nazim Sadykhov
  • Gabriel Bonfim vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov
  • Carli Judice vs. TBA
  • Julia Avila vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
  • Jacob Malkoun vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Jose Delgado vs. Connor Matthews
  • Dylan Budka vs. Edmen Shahbazyan

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 251.