An all Brazilian match-up is now the co-main event for UFC 265.
Next week’s UFC 265 was billed as a card with two championships. However, after Amanda Nunes tested positive for COVID-19, the event has been left with just one belt (an interim one) on the line.
Nunes was due to take on Julianna Pena. However, with COVID numbers surging (especially in Florida where Nunes resides), it’s not surprising that UFC events are once again suffering from last minute line-up changes.
The championship fight that remains intact is Ciryl Gane vs. Derrick Lewis for the interim UFC heavyweight title, which was booked of spite for Francis Ngannou wanting to fight Jon Jones and do so with a bump in pay.
The table-setter for Gane vs. Lewis is now an all-Brazilian match-up in the bantamweight division. Facing off in this fight will be former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and perennially top ranked bantamweight Pedro Munhoz (per Aaron Bronsteter of TSN).
Per the UFC, Jose Aldo vs. Pedro Munhoz will be the new co-main event for UFC 265, replacing Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena, which has been postponed.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) July 29, 2021
Aldo snapped a three fight losing skid in December when he took a unanimous decision over Marlon Vera. Prior to that he fell to Petr Yan for the vacant bantamweight title. The other two losses came to Marlon Moraes (in his bantamweight debut) and future featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski. Before that skid he had back-to-back TKOs over Renato Moicano and Jeremy Stephens.
In Munhoz’s last fight he also stopped a losing streak. His unanimous decision win over Jimmie Rivera, a Fight of the Night, came on the heels of a Fight of the Night split decision loss to Frankie Edgar and a unanimous decision loss to current champ Aljamain Sterling. Prior to those losses Munhoz TKO’d former champ Cody Garbrandt.