The UFC is hoping the third time will be the charm for Jimmie
Rivera and Pedro
Munhoz.
The promotion has rescheduled the bantamweight clash for
UFC Fight Night 186 on Feb. 27 after two previous
cancellations. Munhoz and Rivera were initially slated to meet at
UFC on ESPN 20 on Jan. 20 before being relocated to UFC
258 on Feb. 13 for undisclosed reasons. However, that second
booking fell through due to a positive COVID-19 test related to the
bout.
MMAjunkie.com confirmed the new date after it was initially
mentioned by
MMAFighting.com.
UFC Fight Night 186 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is
headlined by a heavyweight duel between Jairzinho
Rozenstruik and Ciryl Gane.
The card is expected to stream in its entirety on ESPN+.
Rivera and Munhoz initially squared off more than five years ago at
UFC Fight Night 77, with Rivera claiming a split-decision triumph.
That was part of a 20-bout professional winning streak for Rivera,
who is just 2-3 in the Octagon since 2018. Most recently, “El
Terror” snapped a two-bout skid with a three-roud verdict against
Cody
Stamann at UFC on ESPN 13 on July 15.
Munhoz, meanwhile, is coming off a narrow split-decision defeat to
Frankie
Edgar at UFC on ESPN 15. Prior to that, “The Young Punisher”
had a three-bout winning streak snapped in a decision loss to
current No. 1 contender Aljamain
Sterling at UFC 238.