With Irene Aldana moved to UFC 289 to replace Juliana Pena against Amanda Nunes, and her originally scheduled opponent Raquel Pennington given back-up duties, the UFC’s May 20 Fight Night event was left in need of a new main event.
That fight has finally been found: initially booked for UFC Charlotte this weekend, the strawweight fight between Mackenzie Dern and Angela Hill has seen pushed back into the May 20 headlining slot.
MMA Fighting was first to report the news. Dern is ranked #7 at 115lbs, while Hill holds the #14 spot in the weight class.
The UFC has had a rough go when it comes to high-profile cancellations of late. Arman Tsarukyan vs. Renato Moicano, due to headline the organization’s April 29 Fight Night, was lost, replaced by Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon. UFC 288 this past weekend lost Bryce Mitchell, who was to face Movsar Evloev (the Russian instead took on a very game newcomer in Diego Lopes). Mitchell’s withdrawal came after his own original opponent, Jonathan Pearce, pulled out.
With Dern vs. Hill headlining, the UFC’s May 20 card (UFC Fight Night 224) moves forward with the following bouts attached:
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Angela Hill
- Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Anthony Hernandez
- André Fialho vs. Joaquin Buckley
- Hayisaer Maheshate vs. Viacheslav Borschev
- Carlos Diego Ferreira vs. Michael Johnson
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Vanessa Demopoulos
- Orion Cosce vs. Gilbert Urbina
- Ilir Latifi vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
- Chase Hooper vs. Nick Fiore
- Natália Silva vs. Victoria Leonardo
- Clayton Carpenter vs. Stephen Erceg
- Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Brunno Ferreira
- Emily Ducote vs. Loopy Godinez
