Author: MMA Fighting Newswire

MEXICO CITY — Kelvin Gastelum discussed his upcoming fight against Nate Marquardt, his weight cut, whether a move to middleweight is permanent, why he’s at an disadvantage against the best fighters in the 185-pound division, and more at Wednesday’s UFC 188 open workouts in Mexico City.

MEXICO CITY — Gilbert Melendez discussed adjusting to the altitude in Mexico City, his lightweight clash against Eddie Alvarez, returning to his Mexican roots, Cain Velasquez’s status as a Mexican icon, what a win over Alvarez does for his career, and more at Wednesday’s UFC 188 open workouts.

On the second episode of UFC 188 Embedded, Fabricio Werdum questions the necessity of Cain Velasquez’s previous injury withdrawal, Kelvin Gastelum watches old fight footage, and Velasquez finishes his last day of hard training in Mexico City. Meanwhile, Eddie Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez ready for their long-awaited showdown back in the States.

In the first episode of UFC 188, Fabricio Werdum takes us on a tour of his training camp squalor and kisses babies in Mexico, while Cain Velasquez hangs out with Luke Rockhold and Javier Mendez and goes on a boat ride.

A women’s bantamweight bout between Sara McMann and Amanda Nunes has been booked for UFC Fight Night 74 in Nashville, Tennessee on August 8.

The UFC announced the bout on Monday night.

McMann (8-2) is coming off a majority decision loss against Miesha Tate at UFC 183 in January. The 34-year old Olympic Silver medalist in freestyle wrestling had rebounded from her title fight loss to Ronda Rousey in February 2014 with a split decision victory over Lauren Murphy. Considered one of the top women in the 135-pound division, McMann has gone 2-2 in the UFC overall.

The 27-year old Nunes (10-4), meanwhile, is coming off of a resounding victory over Shayna Baszler at UFC Fight Night 62 in Rio in March. She needed just 1:56 to put the veteran Baszler away via a TKO (leg kicks and punches). She has gone 3-1 in the UFC, with her only loss coming at the hands of Cat Zingano at UFC 178 last September.

UFC Fight Night 74 will be held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, and will be headlined by light heavyweights Glover Teixeira and Ovince Saint Preux. A lightweight bout between Michael Johnson and Beneil Dariush has also been announced for the card.

Watch the Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez full fight video below to see Melendez’s memorable win over Sanchez at UFC 166 on Oct. 19, 2013. Melendez returns to the Octagon against Eddie Alvarez on Saturday night at UFC 188.