A strawweight clash pitting Stephanie
Luciano (5-1) against Julia
Polastri (12-3) has been added to
UFC on ESPN 53.
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The news was first reported by Ag.Fight.Prior to the booking of this matchup, both
women were set to face separate opponents in the same month.
Luciano was initially slated to take on Shauna
Bannon on the same card, while Polastri was gearing up for a
meeting with undefeated prospect Josefine
Lindgren Knutsson on March 2. However, with the other bouts
falling apart due to undisclosed reasons, Luciano and Polastri are
now set to battle inside the Octagon.
Both fighters will make their UFC debuts after earning their way
into the promotion through
Dana White’s Contender Series. Luciano will enter the Octagon
on the heels of a unanimous draw against Talita
Alencar in their DWCS 2023 Week 7 clash in September last year.
Prior to that, the Brazilian was on a two-fight winning streak in
Jungle
Fight.
On the other hand, Polastri will face off against Luciano coming
off a Round 2 submission victory over Patricia
Alujas in their DWCS 2023 Week 3 meeting in September. The
25-year-old will enter the Octagon on a four-fight win streak, with
three of those wins coming by way of finish.
UFC on ESPN 53 takes place on March 23 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas
and will be headlined by a women’s flyweight matchup pitting
Amanda
Ribas against former strawweight queen Rose
Namajunas.