Jessica Penne has a new opponent set for her UFC Long Island fight.
Although Penne was originally linked to a match-up with Brianna Fortino, the pair were left off of a recent press release announcing the July 16 fight card. Now we know why. With Fortino forced out of the bout due to an undisclosed injury, Penne (14-5) will instead face Invicta FC strawweight champ Emily Ducote (11-6).
MMA Junkie was first to report the news, with Penne subsequently confirming the booking on social media.
A former strawweight title challenger in the UFC, Penne has seen a return to form since a four-year layoff ended in 2021. Away in part due to troubles with USADA, Penne has returned from her absence to win back-to-back fights against Loopy Godinez and Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
Her most recent win, over Kowalkiewicz, saw Penne secure an arm-bar submission inside of a round.
Ducote, a former Bellator flyweight who fought for that promotion’s inaugural 125 pound title, dropped to strawweight in 2019. Under the Invicta FC banner, she’s posted a 4-1 record, winning the strawweight title last year thanks to a head kick that knocked UFC alum Danielle Taylor senseless.
It was good enough to be noticed among our Knockout of the Year contenders.
“Gordinha” followed that performance up with a TKO victory against Alesha Zappitella last month, successfully defending her title. Ducote also holds notable wins over former UFC fighter Juliana Lima, and current The Ultimate Fighter 30 athlete Kathryn Paprocki.
UFC Long Island (UFC on ABC 3) is set to take place on July 16, 2022 at the UBS Arena in Elmont, Long Island, NY. The card is due to be topped by featherweights Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez, with the following bouts reported thus far:
- Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodríguez
- Askar Askarov vs. Alex Perez
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Da Un Jung
- Herbert Burns vs. Khusein Askhabov
- Michelle Waterson vs. Amanda Lemos
- Ricky Simón vs. Jack Shore
- Billy Quarantillo vs. Bill Algeo
- Li Jingliang vs. Muslim Salikhov
- Dwight Grant vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
- Matt Schnell vs. Sumudaerji
- Punahele Soriano vs. Dalcha Lungiambula
- Jessica Penne vs. Emily Ducote
