A bout billed as a UFC strawweight title eliminator is official, 3,000 or so miles away from its expected location.
The promotion on Friday confirmed a previously reported fight between ex-champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk (15-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) and top contender Michelle Waterson (17-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC) at UFC on ESPN+ 19, which takes place Oct. 12 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.
The event was originally expected to take place at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif. No reason was given for the shift.
MMA Junkie reported this past month that Jedrzejczyk and Waterson had verbally agreed to the fight. Jedrzejczyk’s manager Dan Lambert said a win would secure her another title shot after pair of losses to now-former champ Rose Namajunas.
Jedrzejczyk attempted a reboot at flyweight, taking on current champ Valentina Shevchenko in a short-notice headliner at UFC 230. Shevchenko dominated for a unanimous decision, marking the fourth time she bested the Polish fighter after a trio of matchups in kickboxing.
Waterson, a former Invicta FC atomweight champ, has won three straight at strawweight, most recently outpointing onetime title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
Six weeks prior to the Oct. 12 event, current strawweight champ Jessica Andrade will defend her title against Weili Zhang in China at UFC on ESPN+ 15.
The UFC also made official a Mackenzie Dern (7-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) vs. Amanda Ribas (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) strawweight bout reported last month, and a flyweight fight between Deiveson Figueiredo (16-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and Tim Elliott (15-8-1 MMA, 4-6 UFC).
