Fortunately for Liz Carmouche,
it looks like a sudden switch-up in the women’s bantamweight division won’t
cancel her next UFC appearance.
Now that Miesha Tate has been
called up to the title picture, “Girl-Rilla” will instead greet a newcomer in
Brazilian prospect Jessica Andrade at UFC on Fox 8 on July 27.
According to MMA Fighting,
this will also be the first-ever UFC women’s fight shown on Fox.
Carmouche will look to get
back on the winning track after losing a competitive main event title fight
against champion Ronda Rousey at UFC 157, which ended in a first-round
submission defeat for the challenger by armbar.
Although Carmouche was a
significant underdog, the former Marine Corps technician nearly toppled “Rowdy”
with a standing face crank and rear-naked choke attempt, faltering a mere 11
seconds before the end of the round.
Still, she’s only lost to
elite competition so far, with her two other losses coming at the hands of
former Strikeforce champions Sarah Kaufman and Marloes Coenen.
Jessica Andrade, on the other
hand, is a more unknown quantity.
Hailing from Brazil with an
11-fight record (9-2), the 21-year-old has fought in regional promotions such
as ProFC, Heavy Fighting Championship and Ring of Fire.
Until her last bout in Russia,
Andrade had also never fought outside of Brazil.
UFC on Fox 8 is currently
scheduled to feature a main event bout for the world flyweight championship,
with Demetrious Johnson defending his title against John Moraga.
Interestingly, the event
features another women’s bantamweight bout between Julie Kedzie and Germaine de
Randamie, making this the first UFC card to include two women’s bouts on the
same night.
To boot, the card will also
feature a pair of high-profile matches with Rory MacDonald vs. Jake Ellenberger
and Robbie Lawler vs. Tarec Saffiedine. According to the official UFC rankings,
all four men are currently listed in the Top 10 of the welterweight division. (Source)
