UFC 255 Gets Two Flyweight Championship Fights
UFC 255 is going to be a huge one for both of the promotion’s 125 lb divisions. UFC figurehead Dana White has positioned a pair of compelling flyweight title bouts for their November 21st pay-per-view. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to break the news via his personal Twitter.
Breaking: It will be flyweight title night at UFC 255 on Nov. 21, per Dana White (@danawhite).
Deiveson Figuiredo (@Daico_Deiveson) vs. Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) and Valentina Shevchenko (@BulletValentina) vs. Jennifer Maia (@jennimaiaufc). More soon on @ESPN.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) August 7, 2020
UFC 255
Garbrandt vs Figuiredo is an intriguing one on a number of levels. An obvious factor in this one is that Cody Garbrandt has not competed at flyweight. He is, however, coming off of an emphatic buzzer-beater KO of Raphael Assunção in the second round of their UFC 250 bout. The former UFC bantamweight champion looks to ascend to the promotion’s rarified air of multi-division champions.
Figuiredo is the reigning flyweight champion. He’s presumably flying high after notable back to back wins. The pair of finishes were over flyweight stalwart/ multi-time title challenger Joseph Benavidez. Figuiredo finished Joe B via rear-naked choke in the first round of their UFC Fight Night bout. This went down on July 18th and saw Figuiredo capture the world title. The upcoming fight in November with No Love will mark his first championship defense.
Valentina Shevchenko vs Jennifer Maia has come about via Maia’s fortune changing performance a few days ago. Joanne Calderwood was initially slated for the next crack at the belt. But she opted to compete against Maia on the August 1st UFC Fight Night. Maia would secure a first-round armbar victory. This obviously punched her ticket for the next crack at Shevchenko’s throne.
Shevchenko is riding a five-fight winning streak heading into this next bout. The Bullet‘s last outing saw her notch the third successful defense of her flyweight championship. She bested Katlyn Chookagian via third-round ground and pound at UFC 247. The reigning and defending titlist looks to close out 2020 by getting that fourth successful defense on her resume.
