Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. The
Ultimate Fighting Championship is going out with a bang for its
year-end card, with a bantamweight thriller added to an already
stacked lineup. According to a report from
BJPenn.com on Thursday, Jose Aldo
(28-7) will be taking on Marlon Vera
(16-6-1) at the
UFC Fight Night event on Dec. 19. Aldo and Vera were originally
considered to square off at UFC 255, but the matchup fizzled
before coming to fruition.
Aldo is in the midst of a three-fight losing streak, the longest of
his career. The longtime featherweight king dropped down to
bantamweight in December 2019 to take on Marlon
Moraes, and he lost a close split decision. With Moraes unable
to compete several months later, Aldo stepped over him to face
Petr
Yan for the 135-pound throne. Aldo reigned over the UFC’s
featherweight division for several years after bringing his
World Extreme Cagefighting title with him after
the merger. His reign included seven UFC title defenses, where he
beat the likes of Frankie
Edgar, Chan Sung
Jung and Kenny
Florian on his run.
Vera rebounded from his first loss in nearly two years by busting
up Sean
O’Malley in August, in the process handing “Sugar” his first
career defeat. Vera moved up to featherweight on short notice to
fight Yadong
Song, thereby still keeping his bantamweight finish streak
intact at six with his win over O’Malley. Along the way, Vera has
stopped Andre
Ewell, Frankie
Saenz and Wuliji
Buren among others as he moved up the rankings.
The UFC card on Dec. 19 will be headed by a head-scratching
welterweight matchup pitting Leon
Edwards against Khamzat
Chimaev. Also featured on the card include a pivotal
welterweight battle between Stephen
Thompson and Geoff Neal,
while other thrilling matchups that night include Moraes vs.
Rob
Font at bantamweight and Alexandre
Pantoja vs. Manel Kape
at flyweight.
