Welterweights Jake Matthews and Miguel Baeza will throw down in July.
Matthews (18-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) takes on Baeza (10-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) at UFC 291 on July 29 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City with the main card on pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+, promotion officials announced Thursday.
🚨 BOUT DROP 🚨
🇦🇺@JakeMatthewsUFC makes his way to Utah to face 🇺🇸Baeza at #UFC291! pic.twitter.com/Egu8n2dtVu
— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) June 30, 2023
Matthews hasn’t competed since dropping a unanimous decision to Matthew Semelsberger at UFC Fight Night 216 in December. Prior to that, the 28-year-old Aussie scored a Performance of the Night knockout of Andre Fialho at UFC 275.
Baeza will also look to rebound. After an unbeaten start to his professional MMA career – including three UFC finishes, Baeza has lost three in a row to Santiago Ponzinibbio, Khaos Williams, and most recently Fialho in April 2022.
With the addition, the UFC 291 lineup includes:
- Justin Gaethje vs. Dustin Poirier – for BMF title
- Jan Blachowicz vs. Alex Pereira
- Paulo Costa vs. Ikram Aliskerov
- Michael Chiesa vs. Kevin Holland
- Tony Ferguson vs. Bobby Green
- Derrick Lewis vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
- Michel Pereira vs. Stephen Thompson
- Vinicius Salvador vs. CJ Vergara
- Priscila Cachoeira vs. Joanne Wood
- Miguel Baeza vs. Jake Matthews
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.
