It’s a Brazilian battle inside the Octagon, as Jungle Fight 135-pound champion Larissa Pacheco makes her UFC debut in September.
Initially expected to meet Valerie Letourneau at UFC Fight Night 51 in Brasilia, Brazil, Jessica Andrade now meets Pacheco at the Nilson Nelson gymnasium. The undefeated prospect replaces injured Letourneau on Sept. 13. Pacheco confirmed the news to MMAFighting.com following a report from Combate.
Pacheco (10-0) makes her Octagon debut after three straight stoppage victories under the Jungle Fight banner. Pacheco won the Jungle Fight belt in a stand-up war with Irene Aldana in December, successfully defending the gold with a submission win over Lizianne Silveira in April.
Andrade (11-3) returns to the UFC following an exciting decision victory over Raquel Pennington at UFC 171 in March. Prior to the bantamweight match-up, “Bate Estaca” scored a dominant win over Rosi Sexton in Manchester, England.
UFN 51 is headlined by “Bigfoot” Silva vs. Andrei Arlovski. Here’s the official for UFC Fight Night 51 lineup:
Antonio Silva vs. Andrei Arlovski
Gleison Tibau vs. Piotr Hallmann
Leonardo Santos vs. Lukasz Sajewski
Wendell Oliveira vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Igor Araujo vs. George Sullivan
Iuri Alcantara vs. Russell Doane
Jessica Andrade vs. Larissa Pacheco
Godofredo Pepey vs. Dashon Johnson
Francisco Trinaldo vs. Efrain Escudero
Paulo Thiago vs. Sean Spencer
Rani Yahya vs. Johnny Bedford