Former Deep Jewels champion Seo Hee Ham seeks her second UFC win when she steps back inside the Octagon on October 15th at UFC Fight Night 97: “Lamas vs Penn” in Pasay, Manila, Philippines. Ham is set to face off against KOTC titleholder “Dynamite” Danielle Taylor at strawweight.
UFC officials announced the matchup this past week. Ham is coming off of a contentious decision loss to “Rowdy” Bec Rawlings at UFC Fight Night 85 in March. Taylor made her Octagon debut this past month and dropped a razor-thin Split Decision to rising star Maryna “The Iron Woman” Moroz.
Ham (16-7-0) signed with the UFC in late 2014 and debuted in a short-notice matchup against fellow striker Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood at the TUF 20 Finale. Calderwood prevailed via Unanimous Decision, but Ham rebounded with her first UFC victory close to a full year later when she outpointed Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey at UFC Fight Night 79. In March, she outstruck Rawlings and appeared to have done enough to take a decision victory, but the judges disagreed and handed Rawlings a controversial win.
Taylor (7-2-0) captured the King of the Cage women’s strawweight title in early 2015 and went on to become one of the promotion’s top female stars thanks to a pair of wars with Jamie Colleen. After regaining her title from Colleen in a rematch in March, UFC matchmakers took notice and signed Taylor for an August debut. She engaged in a competitive, back-and-forth battle with Moroz at UFC Fight Night 92, but Moroz did just enough to eke out a narrow victory and Taylor seeks redemption next month.
UFC Fight Night 97: “Lamas vs Penn” takes place on October 15th at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Manila, Philippines. The event is headlined by a featherweight bout between Ricardo “The Bully” Lamas and “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn.
(Photo Credit: UFC)