Dana White reveals UFC 255 to feature two flyweight championship bouts
UFC president Dana White on Friday revealed that UFC 255 will take place on Nov. 21 and features two flyweight championship bouts.
Deivison Figueiredo will put the men's 125-pound title on the line opposite former champion Cody Garbrandt, while women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will defend her belt against Jennifer Maia. The news was first reported by ESPN's Brett Okamoto on Twitter.
The location of UFC 255 has not yet been determined, nor has the bout order.
UFC 255: Deivison Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt
Figueiredo (19-1) is fresh off of back-to-back wins over Joseph Benavidez to claim the flyweight belt. He first defeated Benavidez in February with a second-round TKO stoppage, but was ineligible to win the belt in that fight because he missed weight.
The UFC quickly made the rematch for Fight Island in July, where Figueiredo made weight and then put Benavidez to sleep with a rear-naked choke late in the first round to claim the title.
He'll put the belt on the line for the first time against Garbrandt, who is a former champion, but has just one win to his credit following a three-fight skid.
Garbrandt (12-3) won the men's flyweight title by defeating Dominick Cruz in December of 2016. He then lost the belt to TJ Dillashaw and failed to regain it in an immediate rematch. Garbrandt then lost to Pedro Munhoz before taking a year off.
He returned at UFC 250 in June, defeating Raphael Assuncao via knockout with one second left on the clock in the second round.
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UFC 255: Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jennifer Maia
Shevchenko (19-3) has been utterly dominant since she returned to flyweight. Her three losses were all at bantamweight, two of them to current two-division champion Amanda Nunes, the woman many consider one of the best fighters of all time.
She has won five consecutive fights at flyweight, including winning the vacant championship in a battle with Joanna Jedrzejczyk. She then defended against the likes of Jessica Eye, Liz CarmKouche (whom she lost to at bantamweight), and Katlyn Chookagian.
Shevchenko's next defense will come against Maia (18-6-1), who defeated Joanne Calderwood at UFC Vegas 5 last week. Calderwood had been expected to challenge Shevchenko at UFC 251 in June, but Shevchenko was forced to withdraw because of a leg injury.
Calderwood then accepted the fight with Maia, whose victory leap-frogged her over Calderwood in the race to a title shot.
Deivison Figueiredo was hoping to bring Henry Cejudo out of retirement (UFC on ESPN+ 30 post-fight)
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