With Julia Avila out, Macy Chiasson steps in to face Raquel Pennington at UFC Fight Night 199

Macy Chiasson will look to climb the rankings when she faces a former title challenger.

Julia Avila has been forced out of UFC Fight Night 199 because of a knee injury, and Chiasson will step in on short notice to face Raquel Pennington on Dec. 18 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media Monday following an initial report from MMA Fighting.

Currently riding a two-fight winning streak, Season 28 “The Ultimate Fighter” winner Chiasson (7-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is coming off back-to-back unanimous decision wins over Shanna Young and Marion Reneau. She was scheduled to face Aspen Ladd at UFC on ESPN 27 in July, but Chiasson withdrew due to injury. The bout was then rebooked for UFC Fight Night 193 in October, but the fight was scrapped once again when Ladd came in one pound over the bantamweight limit and was pulled due to health concerns stemming from her weight cut.

Meanwhile, Pennington (12-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC) will also look to build on her two-fight winning streak. After defeating Reneau in June 2020, the former title challenger returned from a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspension to put a halt to Pannie Kianzad’s four-fight unbeaten run, defeating her by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 192 in September.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 199 lineup now includes:

• Chris Daukaus vs. Derrick Lewis

• Belal Muhammad vs. Stephen Thompson

• Angela Hill vs. Amanda Lemos

• Gerald Meerschaert vs. Dustin Stoltzfus

• Darren Elkins vs. Cub Swanson

• Don’Tale Mayes vs. Josh Parisian

• Raphael Assuncao vs. Ricky Simon

• Jordan Leavitt vs. Matt Sayles

• Harry Hunsucker vs. Justin Tafa

• Macy Chiasson vs. Raquel Pennington

• Andre Ewell vs. Charles Jourdain

• Raoni Barcelos vs. TBA

• Sijara Eubanks vs. Melissa Gatto

• Diego Ferreira vs. Mateusz Gamrot