UFC Denver has taken a number of hits in the weeks leading up to the Fight Night card, and another arrived on Friday— leaving Jasmine Jasudavicius with a new opponent.
Canada’s Jasudavicius, ranked #15 in the women’s flyweight division, was to have faced #10-ranked Viviane Araujo at the Ball Arena in Denver, CO on July 13, 2024. However, with Araujo withdrawing from the fight due to undisclosed reasons, Invicta FC vet Fatima Kline will be stepping in to replace her.
A source familiar with the situation confirmed the news to Cageside Press following an initial report by MMA Junkie. The fight will remain at 125lbs despite the short-notice change in opponent.
That’s good news for Jasudavicius (10-3), who accepted her fight with Priscila Cachoeira being moved up an entire weight class at UFC 297 at home in Toronto this past January, after the Brazilian came into fight week heavy. Despite the extra 10lbs, Jasudavicus came away from the fight with a submission win, after battering Cachoeira from pillar to post.
Fighting out of St. Catharines, Ontario’s Niagara Top Team, Jasmine Jasudavicius is 4-2 in the UFC to date, after winning her way into the promotion on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021.
Kline (6-0) had been expected to compete on the Contender Series this September, but is instead taking the shorter path to the octagon. The 23-year old New Yorker known as “The Archangel” also has a lengthy grappling record. In MMA, she captured the CFFC women’s strawweight title last time out, but will move back to 125lbs for UFC Denver — a division in which she also won a CFFC title.
With Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Fatima Kline set, UFC Denver now consists of the following match-ups:
- Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez
- Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov
- Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa
- Julian Erosa vs. Christian Rodriguez
- Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cody Brundage
- Luana Santos vs. Mariya Agapova
- Josh Fremd vs. Andre Petroski
- Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva
- Montel Jackson vs. Da’Mon Blackshear
- Joshua Van vs. Charles Johnson
- Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Fatima Kline
