Former 135lb title challenger and Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann returns to the octagon at UFC Raleigh against Lina Lansberg.
A bantamweight clash between Sara McMann and Lina Lansberg is the latest addition to the UFC Raleigh card. On Wednesday, the UFC announced via social media that the pairing was official, with McMann returning from an extended layoff, and Lansberg looking to make it three wins in a row.
Elbow Queen! 💪👑@LinaLansberg looks to make it 3️⃣ straight when she faces @Sara_McMann at #UFCRaleigh! pic.twitter.com/rcDWOzLskv
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 20, 2019
McMann (11-5), a silver medalist at the Olympics in Athens, Greece in 2004, is a former title challenger at 135lbs. She went up against Ronda Rousey at UFC 170 in 2014, coming up short (as so many did) when Rousey finished the fight with a TKO set up by a knee to the body.
McMann would bounce back against Lauren Murphy, then lose a pair of fights to Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes, two future champions themselves. Following that she embarked on a three-fight win streak, but has dropped her last two, to Ketlen Vieira and Marion Reneau.
McMann has not set foot in the cage since her loss to Reneau at UFC on FOX 28 in February 2018. During her time away, she gave birth to a son, and also dealt with injuries, which led to her pulling out of a bout with Nicco Montaño earlier this year.
Lina Lansberg (10-4) will enter UFC Raleigh off wins over Tonya Evinger and Macy Chiasson, making her 2-0 for 2019. The ‘Elbow Queen’ is 4-3 in the promotion overall, with losses to Cris Cyborg, Aspen Ladd, and Yana Kunitskaya, and additional wins over Lucie Pudilová and Gina Mazany.
UFC Raleigh (UFC Fight Night 166) will be the promotion’s first trip to the North Carolina city. The card is headlined by Junior Dos Santos facing Curtis Blaydes, while Frankie Edgar vs. Cory Sandhagen serves as the co-main event.
The show unfolds January 25, 2020 at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC.
