With Jessica Eye out due to injury, Jennifer Maia has stepped in to face the fast-rising flyweight prospect.
The UFC may not have been able to keep fast-rising flyweight prospect Manon Fiorot on this week’s PPV card, but it seems they’ve found a rock solid replacement fight for the 32-year-old fighting out of Nice, France.
Fiorot had been set to take on former title challenger Jessica Eye this weekend, at UFC 272 in Las Vegas, NV. Unfortunately, Eye was forced from the card late last week, due to an undisclosed injury, suffered in training. The result? Another step forward in competition for the ‘Beast’.
MMA Junkie reports that fellow former title challenger Jennifer Maia has agreed to face Fiorot later this month at UFC Columbus: Blaydes vs. Daukaus, on March 26th.
Maia (19-8-1) is coming fresh off a January rematch loss to Katlyn Chookagian, on the main card of UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Chikadze. That defeat put a quick halt to any momentum the Brazilian had been hoping to build with her bounce back win over Jessica Eye in July of last year—just a little over eight months after a defeat at the hands of flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.
For Fiorot (8-1), this bout will represent the fourth of her short Octagon career, having joined the UFC back in January of 2021 to run out a quick 3-0 record with the world’s largest MMA promotion. The Boxing Squad talent hasn’t tasted defeat since a debut loss to current Bellator talent Leah McCourt, back in 2018—with six of her eight victories coming via TKO/KO.
UFC Columbus is expected to be headlined by a heavyweight top contender’s bout between Curtis Blaydes and Chris Daukaus. A top ranked men’s flyweight bout between Askar Askarov and Kai Kara-France is currently set as the co-main event.