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. A big women’s bantamweight contest is coming to the first
Ultimate Fighting Championship card of 2021. Sara
McMann (12-5) first posted to her Instagram on
Wednesday that she would be taking on Julianna
Pena (9-4) at the
UFC card on Jan. 16. Pena posted news of the matchup shortly
thereafter on her own Instagram. The
matchup was once
considered for the Dec. 19 Fight Night event, per a matchmaking
video posted by the UFC, but it has since been moved to the new
year for undisclosed reasons.
McMann ended a two-fight submission loss skid to Ketlen
Vieira and Marion
Reneau by earning a decision win over Lina
Lansberg in January. McMann was on the shelf for nearly two
years from 2018 to 2020 after having a child, and then suffering an
injury to eject her from a bout with Nicco
Montano. Pena replaced her in that matchup.
“The Venezuelan Vixen” has alternated wins and losses in her last
four, scoring unanimous verdicts over Cat Zingano
and Montano while getting submitted by Valentina
Shevchenko and Germaine
de Randamie. Both Pena and McMann made their UFC debuts in
2013, but Pena has only competed seven times across those seven
years. Throughout her career, Pena maintains equal methods of
victory, with one-third of her wins coming due to strikes, another
third from submission and the final third on the scorecards. Of
note, each of Pena’s last three wins have come by decision.
The UFC event on Jan. 16 is the first of the year from a major
promotion, and it will be capped off by a featherweight thriller
between Max
Holloway and Calvin
Kattar. It is unclear whether the event will take place at the
UFC Apex in Las Vegas or on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates. Featured high on the main card is a welterweight battle
between Santiago
Ponzinibbio and Muslim
Salikhov.
