The
Ultimate Fighting Championship is making a first in Saudi
Arabia this February.
According to Canadian outlet Sportsnet
and immediately confirmed by the
promotion on Monday, Mayra
Bueno Silva (10-4-1, 1 NC) will be returning to flyweight for
an encounter on Feb. 1. The Brazilian will come to blows with
Jasmine
Jasudavicius (12-3) at UFC
Saudi Arabia, also known as a currently unnumbered UFC Fight
Night event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The venue has not been made
official as to whether it will be held at the Kingdom Arena like
the past UFC show in the city or at the building named “The
Venue.”
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The two ladies will serve as the first women’s bout in the Octagon
in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is not the first female match
for the promotion in the Middle East, with that honor going to
Sarah
Moras vs. Liana Jojua
at UFC 242 in 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This event
will be organization’s second jaunt to Saudi Arabia, with the first
UFC on ABC 6 in June, where Robert
Whittaker and Ikram
Aliskerov headlined.
Silva will be shifting back down to flyweight after a two-fight
skid to defending champ Raquel
Pennington and Macy
Chiasson. The woman known as “Sheetara” debuted with the UFC in
2018 at that weight class, winning twice, losing twice and fighting
to a draw with Montana
De La Rosa before moving up. The Brazilian last had her hand
raised at UFC Fight Night 219 in early 2023, as a subsequent ninja
choke of Holly Holm
switched to a no contest when she failed a post-fight drug
test.
A successful 2024 campaign for the Canadian that saw her win three
times while performing two submissions catapults her into this
high-stakes affair. Since her decision loss to Tracy
Cortez in 2023, Jasudavicius rattled off victories over
Priscila
Cachoeira, Fatima
Kline and Ariane
Lipski, the last of which coming with the third brabo choke
performed by women in the Octagon.
The currently unnumbered Fight Night event—one that could be listed
differently depending on its broadcast plans—will go down on Feb. 1
in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fights will take place inside of
either Kingdom Arena or The Venue, and no headliner has been
attached to the card. Other tilts slated for the billing include a
heavyweight clash between Sergei
Pavlovich and Jairzinho
Rozenstruik, a middleweight scrap when Andre Muniz
faces Ikram
Aliskerov and a rumored pairing between Michael
Page and Sharabutdin
Magomedov at 185 pounds.