A pair of ranked flyweights will look to continue their win streaks in October.
MMA Fighting was the first to report that No. 10 ranked flyweight Tim Elliott will fight No. 12 Matheus Nicolau on October 9 at a yet-to-be-announced UFC event. Mackenzie Dern and Marina Rodriguez are expected to headline the card. Nicolau would confirm the booking on his Instagram story.
On the verge of being released from the promotion for the second time, Elliott (17-11) has now won two straight fights. In his third and final fight of 2020, he defeated Ryan Benoit via unanimous decision on ‘Fight Island.’ In his most recent win, Elliott defeated Jordan Espinosa at UFC 259, giving him his walking papers. Elliott was scheduled to return in June at UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Volkov, but his opponent pulled out with a knee injury.
Nicolau (16-2-1) returned to the UFC after being away from the organization for two years due to the UFC being unsure if they were keeping the flyweight division. The Brazilain defeated Manel Kape in his return fight via a questionable split decision.
No location, venue, or broadcast plan has been announced for the October 9 event, but UFC President Dana White said that all Fight Nights will be staying at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV.
The October 9 fight card now includes the following reported bouts:
- Marina Rodriguez vs. Mackenzie Dern
- Chris Gutierrez vs. Felipe Colares
- Lupita Godinez vs. Sam Hughes
- Laureano Staropoli vs. Jamie Pickett
- Alexandr Romanov vs. Jared Vanderaa
- Sabina Mazo vs. Mariya Agapova
- Tim Elliott vs. Matheus Nicolau
- Phil Hawes vs. Deron Winn
