Former UFC title challenger Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche has a new opponent for her upcoming bantamweight bout at UFC on FOX 8. Carmouche will now face off against Brazilian rising star Jéssica “Bate Estaca” Andrade on the card, which is set to take place on July 27th in Seattle, Washington.
MMAFighting.com first reported on the fight tonight. Carmouche’s two-fight winning streak was halted by UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey at UFC 157 in February. Andrade has won seven of her past eight and she is coming off of a key victory over Milana Dudieva.
Carmouche (8-3-0) was one-half of the first female fight in Ultimate Fighting Championship history when she faced Rousey for the newly-created 135-pound women’s title on February 23rd. The former U.S. Marine had Rousey in some serious trouble with a standing neck crank early in the fight, but Rousey managed to escape the hold and eventually finished the fight with her signature armbar late in round one. Carmouche was then booked to face former Strikeforce champ Miesha “Cupcake” Tate in July, but Tate was removed from the card and installed as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter 18 after “Alpha” Cat Zingano sustained a knee injury.
Andrade (9-2-0) fought seven times in 2012 and she has already scored a pair of submission victories this year. On April 14th, she travelled to Russia to face off against veteran standout Dudieva, and Andrade dominated the fight from start to finish. She dropped Dudieva early in the bout and eventually forced the hometown favourite to tap out to a guillotine choke late in round two. Looking to keep busy, Andrade had lined up four fights for the coming months, but those plans will be put on hold as she instead makes her Octagon debut against Carmouche. All nine of the 21-year-old Andrade’s victories have come inside the distance.
UFC on FOX 8: “Johnson vs Moraga” takes place on July 27th at KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. The bout between Carmouche and Andrade is expected to remain on the FOX-televised main card. In a second female fight, veteran contender Julie “Fireball” Kedzie takes on Muay Thai sensation Germaine “The Iron Lady” de Randamie.
(Photo Credit: UFC)