A strawweight bout between Ashley Yoder and Vanessa Demopoulos is official for the first UFC event of the year on January 15, 2022.
A strawweight bout between Ashley Yoder and Vanessa Demopoulos is set for the first UFC event of 2022 on January 15. MMA DNA was first to report the news of the fight and that Yoder had signed a new contract, while Demopoulos later confirmed the fight was official on social media.
News of Yoder (8-8) signing a new deal comes somewhat unexpectedly considering that the Team Quest veteran is 1-4 in her past five UFC bouts and is coming off a two fight skid. “Spider Monkey” has been part of the UFC since 2016 and has fought the likes of Mackenzie Dern, Angela Hill, and former Invicta FC atomweight champion Jing You Frey.
Demopoulos (6-4) is coming off a loss in her UFC debut in which she moved up to flyweight on short notice to take on JJ Aldrich in August. A former LFA champion and Dana White’s Contender Series veteran, Demopoulos has fought Sam Hughes, Lupita Goodinez, Cheyanne Buys, and Katlyn Chookagian across her professional and amateur career.
A featherweight bout between surging contender Giga Chikadze and Calvin Kattar is being targeted as the headliner for the event, but has not been officially announced. No location for the card has been announced either. Throughout 2021, all Fight Night events were held at the Apex in Las Vegas.
