A women’s flyweight clash pitting Alexa
Grasso against Joanne Wood
is one of multiple additions to the Ultimate Fighting
Championship’s upcoming event in Columbus, Ohio, on March 26.
Promotion officials on Wednesday announced Grasso vs. Wood along
with the following bouts: Sara McMann
vs. Karol Rosa
at bantamweight; Matheus
Nicolau vs. David
Dvorak at flyweight; Lerone
Murphy vs. Nate
Landwehr at featherweight and Aliaskhab
Khizriev vs. Abusupiyan
Magomedov at middleweight.
UFC Fight Night takes place at Nationwide Arena and is
headlined by a light heavyweight tilt between Jan
Blachowicz and Aleksandar
Rakic. According to a release, the entire card will air on ESPN
and ESPN+, with prelims beginning at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT and the
main draw starting at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Grasso and Wood were initially scheduled to meet on Nov. 20, but
Grasso withdrew from the contest for undisclosed reasons. The Lobo
Gym MMA representative is currently on a two-bout winning streak in
the Octagon, with back-to-back decision wins over Ji Yeon Kim
and Maycee
Barber to her credit. Prior to that, Grasso went 3-3 during a
six-fight UFC stint at 115 pounds.
Wood, meanwhile, ended up falling to Taila
Santos via first-round submission at UFC Fight Night 198 on
Nov. 20 — her third loss in four promotional appearances. The
35-year-old Scotland native last tasted victory at UFC 257, where
she outpointed Jessica Eye
in January 2021.