Following a 16-month hiatus from competition, Germaine “The Iron Lady” de Randamie has an opponent for her Octagon return on March 14th at UFC 185: “Pettis vs dos Anjos” in Dallas, Texas. De Randamie meets Jungle Fight Women’s Bantamweight Champion Larissa Moreira Pacheco.
Sub-Zero MMA first Tweeted news of the fight this afternoon. De Randamie has not fought since November 2013 when she was stopped by Amanda “Lioness” Nunes. Pacheco suffered her first professional defeat in her UFC debut against Jéssica “Bate Estaca” Andrade at UFC Fight Night 51.
De Randamie (4-3-0) is one of the most decorated female strikers in the world. The multi-time Muay Thai world champion rebounded from a submission loss in her MMA debut by winning four of her next five fights, including notable victories over Hiroko “Cat’s Eye” Yamanaka in Strikeforce and Julie “Fireball” Kedzie in her UFC debut. Her second Octagon bout ended in a one-sided defeat against Nunes and she now looks to get back on track by handing Pacheco her second straight loss.
Pacheco (10-1-0) made a quick climb up the women’s bantamweight ranks in Brazil by winning ten straight fights in her home country after debuting at the young age of 17. Her biggest victory came in late 2013 when she defeated Xtreme Kombat champion and current Invicta FC standout Irene Aldana “Robles” to become Jungle Fight Women’s Bantamweight Champion. After retaining her title in April, Pacheco was signed by the UFC, but her debut ended in a disappointing submission loss to Andrade.
UFC on FOX 15: “Pettis vs dos Anjos” takes place on March 14th at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The event is headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout between Anthony “Showtime” Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos, and also features a UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship battle between Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza and Joanna JÄ™drzejczyk.
(Photo Credit: UFC)
Interesting match-up for both ladies. Larissa is kind of a wild striker, and Germaine is definitely more refined. I think Larissa needs to change camps!
Now the bw fights are flying. Couple more announced fights and most of the roster will be busy. Oh, and Alexis Dufrense was cut which everyone saw coming.