With the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title race still in flux, the winner of this bout could have a shot at winning gold with a few more wins.
Karol Rosa (17-6), ranked 135th, and Panny Kianzad (16-8), will compete on a currently unannounced UFC Fight Night card on Aug. 10. The two are scheduled to meet at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and Brazilian outlet Ag Fight first reported the matchup on Wednesday. Kianzad later posted about the matchup on social media on Thursday, confirming its authenticity.
Brazil’s Rosa has alternated wins and losses in her past six fights, but is fresh off a spectacular battle with Irene Aldana at UFC 296 in December. The two battled hard for 15 minutes in a brutal, bloody battle that ended with Aldana ahead on the scorecards, but each fighter earned themselves a bonus check of $50,000. The native of Vale Tudo, Paraná, has remained a major contender in her weight class, defeating the likes of Jana Santos, Lina Landsberg and Bethe Correia by decision. Rosa has fought nine consecutive full rounds throughout her UFC career.
While Rosa lost last time out, Kianzad has now lost two straight since July 2023. Ketlen Vieira won a decision over Rosa at UFC Fight Night 224 before submitting Macy Chiasson in a rematch at UFC Fight Night 239. Notably, both bouts were co-mained by Marcin Tybura, who will rematch Sergey Spivak and potentially headline the card. Prior to her two losses, Kianzad had won five of her six bouts, including wins over Landsberg and Correia, but fell short to future champion Raquel Pennington.
UFC Fight Night will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on August 10, but no main event has been announced at this time. Potential main card bouts include the aforementioned heavyweight bout between Tybura and Spivak 2, the recently rebooked featherweight bout between Damon Jackson and Jose Mariscal, and a 135-pound bout between Javaid Basharat and Chris Gutierrez.
