There is a new opponent for No. 6-ranked contender Paige VanZant (6-1) on December 10, and it is No. 3-ranked Rose Namajunas (3-2).
No. 8-ranked Joanne Calderwood was originally slated for the main event position, but Fox Sports reports that an injury suffered in training camp forced her off the card. Credit goes to the UFC for not only finding a suitable replacement but arguably giving fans a more exciting matchup.
Namajunas started her career 2-0 in Invicta FC before losing her final bout in the organization to Tecia Torres. She was signed as part of The Ultimate Fighter season 20 that would crown the first-ever strawweight champion for the company. She flourished by beating Alex Chambers, Joanne Calderwood and Randa Markos all via submission. She would lose her title match to Carla Esparza.
That was the season where Paige VanZant was not allowed to join the cast due to age restrictions, but she made an impact of her own when she debuted against Kailin Curran. VanZant quickly gained a lot of fan support to become one of the most talked about prospects. VanZant picked up two more wins in the Octagon to move to 3-0 under the UFC’s banner.
The new main event will test both prospects and propel the victor into title contention no matter how ready they are for it.
There will be a lot at stake in this contest, and we will learn a lot more about their progression as fighters. It is an intriguing stylistic clash between two of the brightest youngsters in the UFC.
The bout will be the first non-title strawweight main event in UFC history.
The December 10 main event takes place at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan on UFC Fight Pass. Bleacher Report will have complete coverage of the proceedings as the UFC stages three cards on consecutive days ending with UFC 194.
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