Ham vs Rawlings, Curran vs Chambers Set For UFC Fight Night 65Former Deep Jewels Featherweight Champion Seo Hee Ham looks to pick up her first UFC victory when she returns to the Octagon on May 10th at UFC Fight Night 65: “Miocic vs Hunt” in Adelaide, Australia. Ham is set to battle outspoken Australian star “Rowdy” Bec Rawlings on the card.

UFC officials announced the strawweight fight today. The card also features a second 115-pound women’s bout between former amateur standout Kailin Curran and Australian prospect Alex “Astro Girl” Chambers. All four fighters face potential must-win scenarios following defeats in their UFC debuts.

Ham (15-6-0) vacated her 106-pound Deep Jewels title in order to join the UFC’s strawweight division this past November and she brought a six-fight winning streak into her debut at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale. However, she was outstruck by TUF 20 quarterfinalist Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood en route to a competitive Unanimous Decision defeat. Ham will once again give up a size and strength advantage to her opponent when she makes her return to the Octagon in May, but she looks to re-establish herself as a contender at 115 pounds where she has competed for the majority of her pro career.

Rawlings (5-4-0) took part in the inaugural all-female season of The Ultimate Fighter following a 1-2 run for Invicta FC that included a short-notice five-round title bout against Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza and a closely-contested battle with Japanese prodigy Mizuki Inoue. While she was eliminated in the opening round of TUF 20, Rawlings still made headlines – both good and bad – for her brash comments and story of escaping from domestic violence. In her official UFC debut at the TUF 20 Finale, Rawlings dropped a decision to rival “Hurricane” Heather Clark, who entered the fight with a torn ACL.

 

Curran (3-1-0) followed up on a stellar amateur run in her native Hawaii by winning her pro debut against Invicta FC veteran Kaiyana Rain at Pacific Xtreme Combat 36 in March 2013. She fought two more times for the promotion and totalled victories over future Deep Jewels interim champion Emi Tomimatsu and Yoo Jin Jung before signing on with the UFC. In her UFC Fight Night 57 debut, Curran engaged in a thrilling bout with current UFC postergirl “12 Gauge” Paige VanZant before succumbing to a series of unanswered strikes midway through the third round.

Chambers (4-2-0) racked up victories in three of her first four fights, with the lone defeat coming at the hands of the aforementioned Mizuki Inoue. She signed with Invicta FC in 2013 and won her lone fight for the promotion in quick and impressive fashion when she submitted Jodie Esquibel at Invicta FC 5. In the ensuing months, Chambers joined a group of female fighters who made the move from Invicta FC to the UFC. She was submitted by “Thug” Rose Namajunas during TUF 20 and dropped her official UFC debut to Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly at the TUF 20 Finale.

With UFC roster spots becoming more and more difficult to maintain, all four female fighters on the Adelaide card are likely one defeat away from being added to the UFC cut list. The winners of the two bouts will take a step closer to entering the 115-pound title picture where UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza currently reigns supreme.

UFC Fight Night 65: “Miocic vs Hunt” takes place on May 10th at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, Australia. The event is expected to be headlined by a heavyweight bout between Stipe Miocic and Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt.

 

  1. Kailin was fight of the night. I doubt she will be cut, even if she loses.

  2. Plus she is attractive. Does that matter? Yes! I see her beating Chambers even in Australia.

    Even though UFC are trying to build up Bec in Australia, this could be a bad matchup if SHH can keep pressure on her. SHH could very well be the top 105 fighter in the world, but she will always get outsized at 115. She can still give any fighter outside of UFC’s top 10 major problems.

  3. I’m hoping that Bec Rawlings gets her ass handed to her. Thoroughly unlikeable person throughout TUF. I imagine the majority of UFC Strawweight fans will be praying for her to lose then get cut. A huge serving of humble pie for Bec

  4. Oh, and everything changed in MMA today with UFC’s announcement about drug testing. The other promotions, including Invicta, will follow or have zero credibility in the sport. We might see a number of fighters disappear or drop weight.

    And Cyborg fighting Ronda is now over. Cyborg herself will likely be phased out if commissions step up their testing.