Karolina Kowalkiewicz returns, meets Jessica Penne at UFC 265
Former UFC strawweight title contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz (12-6) will return to the octagon when she meets Jessica Penne (13-5) at UFC 265 on August 7.
While no location or venue has officially been announced, the outing will mark Kowalkiewicz’s first fight with promotion since February 2020.
Kowalkiewicz took to Instagram to announce her fight new: “Verified
It’s official! I’m coming back! And I can’t wait! 💪🔥🥰 #ufc #lovemyjob #imcomingback #cantwait #nevergiveup #kk #kz #lodz #poland”
View this post on Instagram
The 35-year-old fighter from Łódź, Poland is looking to bounce back from a string of four consecutive losses. Kowalkiewicz dropped unanimous decision to Xiaonan Yan, Alexa Grasso, and Michelle Waterson, following a knockout loss to former champion Jéssica Andrade. The last time Kowalkiewicz had her hand raised in victory was when she earned a split decision win over Felice Herrig more than three years ago.
Penne earned a split decision win over promotional newcomer Lupita Godinez at April’s UFC Vegas 24 event, her first since 2017.
Penne had been dealing with violations with the UFC’s anti-doping policy and was facing a four-year suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency before receiving clearance to return back to competition.
Current UFC 265 fight card:
Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Peña – 135 lbs
José Aldo vs. Pedro Munhoz – 135 lbs
Vicente Luque vs. Michael Chiesa – 170 lbs
Drako Rodriguez vs. Vince Morales – 135 lbs
Johnny Munoz Jr. vs. Jamey Simmons – 135 lbs
Victoria Leonardo vs. Melissa Gatto – 125 lbs
Yadong Song vs. Casey Kenney – 135 lbs
Tecia Torres vs. Angela Hill – 115 lbs
Ed Herman vs. Alonzo Menifield – 205 lbs
Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Jessica Penne – 115 lbs
