A pair of UFC bantamweights will be looking to get back into the win column this summer.
MMA Fighting was the first to report the news that Julio Arce will be moving back down to bantamweight for the time in his UFC career to fight Andre Ewell on July 24, a yet-to-be-announced UFC event. Sources later confirmed the booking to Cageside Press.
Ewell (17-7) had his two-fight win streak snapped earlier this year at UFC 258 against Chris Gutiérrez, losing a unanimous decision. He was scheduled to face top 15 ranked bantamweight Cody Stamann; however, a positive COVID test put a halt to that. Before his loss, he defeated Irwin Rivera and Jonathan Martinez via a split decision in 2020.
Arce (16-4) hasn’t fought since his split decision loss against Hakeem Dawodu in 2019 at UFC 244. The former Ring of Combat two-division champion was scheduled to face Timur Valiev earlier this year at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov but pulled out due to undisclosed reasons.
The UFC’s July 24 event does not have an official location, venue, or broadcast plan announced. The following bouts have been reported for the Fight Night card:
- Aspen Ladd vs. Macy Chiasson
- Maycee Barber vs. Miranda Maverick
- Trevin Jones vs. Tony Kelley
- Raphael Assunção vs. Kyler Phillips
- Randy Costa vs. Adrian Yanez
- Mickey Gall vs. Jordan Williams
- Julio Arce vs. Andre Ewell
