UFC Tampa has gone through tons of changes.
As it is, the December 14 card is finalized for now. Dana White and Co. have added two fights to the card, bringing the fight lineup to 14.
Miranda Maverick was originally scheduled to fight Tracy Cortez, but the latter cannot compete due to injury. Rather than fall off the card, Maverick will face Jamey-Lyn Horth, who is coming to a win over Ivana Petrovic on November 2 in Edmonton.
Maverick wanted a ranked opponent like Cortez, who is No. 12.
However, because of the short time before UFC Tampa, she could not find an opponent that would allow her to earn a ranking with a victory. Miles Johns is another fighter who has gone through a few changes over the past few days.
Initially, Johns was set to fight former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt at UFC Vegas 100. Garbrandt had to withdraw from the card because of injury, leaving Johns without an opponent.
Garbrandt’s withdrawal pushed Johns off the November 9 card. However, Johns was rebooked for UFC Tampa against Felipe Lima. In June, Lima made a huge impression in his UFC debut.
The 26-year-old Brazilian scored a third-round submission win over Muhammad Naimov. Lima earned a performance bonus for his win.
In addition to the new fights, there’s a men’s flyweight scrap between Manel Kape and Bruno Silva. A victory for Kape could put him within a win or two from title contention.
A standout from Season 8 of the Dana White Contender Series, Navajo Stirling makes his main roster debut against Tuco Tokkos. Keep an eye on the Cub Swanson vs. Billy Quarantillo clash.
While neither veteran is a title contender at this point in their careers, both have won Fight of the Night awards. In Swanson’s long WEC-UFC career, he has won 10 FOTN bonuses.
At one point, Swanson won three consecutive FOTN. The UFC would love for Swanson to have another memorable fight.
The UFC has put together a huge welterweight clash in the main event. Ian Machado Garry vs. Joaquin Buckley could be a battle for future welterweight division champions.
Garry and Buckley have the talent and youth to put together a strong run toward the championship. The winner will be in a great position to challenge the No. 1 contender or the champion.
Here is a look at the full schedule of fights for UFC Tampa.
- Ian Machado Garry vs. Joaquin Buckley – Welterweight
- Amanda Ribas vs. Mackenzie Dern – Women’s Strawweight
- Cub Swanson vs. Billy Quarantillo – Featherweight
- Drakkar Klose vs. Joel Alvarez – Lightweight
- Michael Johnson vs. Ottman Azaitar – Lightweight
- Miranda Maverick vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth – Women’s Flyweight
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Vitor Petrino – Light Heavyweight
- Piera Rodriguez vs. Josefine Knutsson – Women’s Strawweight
- Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos – Light Heavyweight
- Davey Grant vs. Ramon Taveras – Bantamweight
- Manel Kape vs. Bruno Silva – Men’s Flyweight
- Sean Woodson vs. Fernando Padilla – Featherweight
- Daniel Marcos vs. Adrian Yanez – Bantamweight
- Miles Johns vs. Felipe Lima – Featherweight
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