Deiveson Figueiredo (19-1) will defend his flyweight title against Alex Perez (24-5) on November 22nd. It originally scheduled for Cody Garbrandt fighting for the belt but later pulled out due to a torn bicep. UFC chose Perez as the title challenger. He was supposed to face Brandon Moreno but instead bumped up to the main event for the title match. The matchmaking doesn’t make sense in my opinion. It should have been Brandon Moreno fighting for the belt since he is the highest-ranked bantamweight fighting on the card. Even Figueiredo said that he is not impressed by Perez, rather he chooses Moreno over Perez.

Brandon Moreno (17-5-1) will still fight on the event but on the preliminary card. It will be against Brandon Royval (12-4) who will do a quick turnaround since he just fought a couple of months ago. He submitted Kai Kara-France via guillotine choke. Moreno would be coming in the favorite as he is more prepared and higher ranked. The winner of this fight might get the next title shot.

The co-main event of this card will be Valentina Shevchenko(19-3) vs Jennifer Maia(17-6-1) for the women’s flyweight title. Shevchenko will come in as a heavy favorite, she will be expected to win as most of her past fights. The level of Shevchenko right now is so dominant that no fighter present in her division poses a threat against her.  The only challenge for her right now is going up to fight Amanda Nunes for the third time. The second fight was so close that some even thought Valentina won. Even though Valentina is expected to win, it is not a guaranteed win. Anything can happen, that is the beauty of the sport.

One of the most entertaining fighters, Mike Perry(14-6) was supposed to fight Robbie Lawler. He has called out Robbie Lawler for many years but Lawler was too high ranked for him. He just lost the title against Tyron Woodley. Due to Lawler pulling out, Tim Means steps in.  Means(29-12-1, 1NC) is a real veteran of the sport, he has been since 2004. Although he is not the fighter that he used to be, his experience might be his key to victory. Perry is known for his brute strength and durability but time has shown that he still lacks fight IQ sometimes. There was a viral auction before that Mike Perry is offering an opportunity to be in his corner. He was notable in his last fight against Mickey Gall, that he had his girlfriend be in his corner. Many tried to bid, most notably Darren Till.

Another fight in the main card is Kathlyn Chookigan vs Cynthia Calvillo. Chookigan has fought for the title before but fell short against Shevchenko. Her last fight is coming off a loss via liver shot against Jessica Andrade last October. It will be a quick turn around fight for her and her recovery could be questioned if she is ready. Her opponent, Calvillo is a rising prospect that has only one loss via decision. If Calvillo wins, she might have an opportunity to fight for the title. Jessica Andrade is the only other fighter that makes right now for title contention.

The main card opener features a rematch fight of former light-heavyweight champion Shogun Rua against  Paul Craig. Their first encounter was a split draw, so it would make sense to run it back. Shogun Rua is a future hall of famer that has yet to prove again that he still belongs in the sport. Craig is known for his BJJ skills and submitting guys on the ground but Shogun also has BJJ credentials to his name.

Another interesting fact is that the sister of Valentina, Antonina Shevchenko is also fighting in the prelims. She would be fighting against Ariane Lipski who just had one of the nastiest submissions of the year. She submitted Launa Carolina via kneebar.  It is usually expected that Antonina to be on Valentina’s corner but it depends on the outcome of her fight.

Joaquin Buckley who arguably had the greatest knockout in UFC history is also fighting so tune in, we might see another highlight reel. He gained instant star power when he had an upset win against Impa Kasanganay via a spinning back kick. His opponent is Jordan Wright.

The whole fight card can be seen below

MAIN CARD
  • Flyweight Deiveson Figueiredo (c) vs. Alex Perez
  • Women’s Flyweight Valentina Shevchenko (c) vs. Jennifer Maia
  • Welterweight Mike Perry vs. Tim Means
  • Women’s Flyweight Katlyn Chookagian vs. Cynthia Calvillo
  • Light Heavyweight Maurício Rua vs. Paul Craig
Preliminary card
  • Flyweight Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval
  • Middleweight Joaquin Buckley vs. Jordan Wright
  • Women’s Flyweight Antonina Shevchenko vs. Ariane Lipski
Early preliminary card
  • Welterweight Alan Jouban vs. Jared Gooden
  • Middleweight Kyle Daukaus vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
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