A meeting between women’s bantamweight contenders Julianna Pena and Jessica Eye is slated for Oct. 3 at UFC 192. The UFC confirmed the bout Tuesday following an initial report by ESPN.
Pena (6-2), the former underdog winner of The Ultimate Fighter 18, persevered through one of the grisliest knee injuries the sport has seen in recent memory to make her triumphant return with a first-round stoppage of Milana Dudieva at UFC Fight Night 63.
The 25-year-old is currently ranked No. 11 on the UFC’s media-generated women’s bantamweight rankings. Known as “The Venezuelan Vixen,” Pena finished Team Rousey No. 1 pick Shayna Baszler, Sarah Moras, and former champion boxer Jessica Rakoczy in 2013 to become the first female TUF winner in the series’ history.
She now faces a giant leap towards contendership, but only if she gets past Eye (11-3, 1 NC).
The 29-year-old native of Cleveland lost a hard-fought decision to Miesha Tate in a bantamweight title eliminator at UFC on FOX 16, halting a run to the belt that began with a bloody victory over Leslie Smith.
Regardless of the loss, Eye remains the No. 6 ranked female bantamweight in the UFC. She dropped a split decision to Alexis Davis and fought to a no contest against Sarah Kaufman due to a failed drug test for marijuana metabolites in her two other Octagon appearances.
UFC 192 takes place at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX. Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier looks to defend his title against Alexander Gustafsson in the night’s main event.
An updated UFC 192 fight card can be seen below.
- Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson
- Rashad Evans vs. Ryan Bader
- Julianna Pena vs. Jessica Eye
- Shawn Jordan vs. Ruslan Magomedov
- Yair Rodriguez vs. Daniel Hooker