Former UFC title challenger Sara McMann looks to rebound from a pair of tough defeats when she returns to the Octagon on May 29th at UFC Fight Night 88: “Almeida vs Garbrandt” in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Olympic silver medallist squares off against Jessica “Evil” Eye in a bantamweight bout.
UFC officials confirmed the fight earlier today following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. McMann suffered a first-round submission loss to top contender Amanda “Lioness” Nunes in her most recent fight in August. Eye also seeks redemption after dropping back-to-back decisions this past year.
McMann (8-3-0) brought an unblemished record into her February 2014 UFC title fight against fellow Olympic medallist “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey, but the brief bout ended in disappointing fashion for McMann when she was stopped by a knee to the body in just 66 seconds. She rebounded with a controversial Split Decision win over Lauren Murphy six months later before losing a razor-thin decision to current champion Miesha “Cupcake” Tate in early 2015. McMann had hoped to get back into the title hunt with a win in August, but she succumbed to a rear-naked choke from Nunes.
Eye (11-4-0, 1 ND) appeared to be on the fast track to a title shot after defeating former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman in her October 2013 UFC debut, but the win was later overturned when Eye tested positive for marijuana metabolites. Since then, the Ohio native has struggled inside the Octagon with just one victory in her past four fights. She dropped a competitive decision to Tate in July and most recently suffered a Unanimous Decision loss to TUF 18 winner Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña at UFC 192 in October. Eye now seeks a much-needed win in May.
UFC Fight Night 88: “Almeida vs Garbrandt” takes place on May 29th at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is headlined by a bantamweight bout between Thomas “Thominhas” Almeida and Cody “No Love” Garbrandt.
(Photo Credit: UFC)