Two new bouts have been announced to bolster the upcoming UFC 192 event on October 3rd in Houston, Texas.
First up there’s flyweight action featuring two former title contenders as the No.2 ranked Joseph Benavidez goes up against Ali Bagautinov.
Benavidez has come up short twice against divisional kingpin Demetrious Johnson already, but that aside he’s never been beaten in the flyweight class with seven wins in total under his belt during a three year stint at 125lbs and is currently on a three fight winning streak.
Bagautinov also lost to Johnson back in June of 2014 which snapped an 11 fight winning streak with three of those victories coming inside the Octagon, but to make matters worse he then tested positive for EPO and was subsequently banned for a year – hence the reason he’s not currently ranked in the division.
Also announced for UFC 192 is a woman’s strawweight fight between Rose Namajunas and Angela Hill, two products of the TUF 20 reality show.
‘Thug’ Rose made it to the final of the show with her blend of slick striking and submissions, but she then came up second best against Carla Esparza. She had been all set to return to the Octagon just a couple of months ago at UFC 187, but her opponent Nina Ansaroff failed to make weight and then became ill resulting in the fight being cancelled.
Despite those setbacks it’s a testament to Namajunas skills that she’s still ranked No.3 in the 115lb weight class heading into only her second official UFC fight.
As for Hill, she was a relatively inexperienced newcomer on TUF and lost to the eventual winner Esparza in the opening round of the tournament. Another tough opponent in Tecia Torres for her first official UFC fight also resulted in another defeat.
Hill has potential, but is still a work in progress so it’s a bit of a shame she’s already been lined up against three of the top five contenders so early in her career.
UFC 192 will be headlined by a light-heavyweight bout between Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson with Johny Hendricks Vs Tyron Woodley set for the co-main event. Benavidez Vs Bagautinov looks like being the featured prelim of the evening, while Namajunas Vs Hill is currently lined up to open the undercard.
