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A pivotal women’s bantamweight bout has been added to UFC 245, which also features a title bout between Amanda Nunes and Germaine de Randamie.
Ketlen Vieira is back.
The UFC women’s bantamweight top contender is set to return from nearly a two-year layoff against Irene Aldana at UFC 245 on Dec. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Milenio first reported the news Thursday.
Vieira, ranked No. 2 in the division, hasn’t fought since a March 2018 win over former title challenger Cat Zingano. She was scheduled to fight Tonya Evinger last September but pulled out of the contest due to a knee injury. Vieira, 28, also holds a notable win over Sara McMann.
Aldana had a rocky start to her UFC career, but has won four of her last five appearances. In her last outing, the Mexican fighter won a decision over Vanessa Melo at UFC Mexico City in September. Aldana has already fought three times in 2019. She holds an overall UFC record of 4-3.
UFC 245 is expected to be headlined by Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington and also feature Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski and Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie.
The Vieira vs. Aldana winner could possibly be next in line for a shot at the winner of Nunes vs. de Randamie, which is for the women’s 135-pound belt.