Woman’s strawweight veteran Felice Herrig will face young up-and-comer Paige VanZant at UFC on Fox 15 this April 18.
The news was reported by UFC broadcaster Ariel Helwani Wednesday night on UFC Tonight (h/t MMAJunkie.com):
Felice Herrig vs. Paige VanZant, Jim Miller vs. Paul Felder added to FOX UFC Fight Night http://t.co/11XoKFfUGz pic.twitter.com/2l2QWIEmb3
— UFCONFOX (@UFCONFOX) January 15, 2015
The 30-year-old Herrig (10-5) gained national notoriety as a cast member on the 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter. Though she lost in the quarterfinals, she still appeared on the season finale, where she defeated Lisa Ellis in her first official UFC bout.
TUF 20 served as a starting point for the woman’s strawweight division in the UFC. The winner of the season, Carla Esparza, became the inaugural champion for the weight class. All the other fighters, Herrig included, helped flesh out the divisional roster.
The 20-year-old VanZant (4-1) was nearly a part of the show, but was ultimately ruled out because of her youth (alcohol is available in the house and she is under 21 years old). VanZant is the second-youngest fighter currently on the UFC roster (Larissa Pacheco edges out VanZant by a few months).
After the fight was announced on Wednesday, VanZant took to Twitter to express her enthusiasm:
I CAN OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCE MY FIGHT!!!! YEAH BUDDY!! pic.twitter.com/GYiP7zNU5z
— Paige Vanzant (@PaigeVanzantUFC) January 15, 2015
VanZant won her UFC debut by TKO over Kailin Curran in November 2014, in a bout that ultimately took home Fight of the Night honors.
Herrig, who is primarily a wrestler, will be a stiff test for VanZant, who is mainly a striker.
The fight, which will air on Fox, is a battle of two of the division’s better fighters while holding clear appeal to the UFC’s key young male demographic.
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