UFC back heads to Austin, first bout is Jennifer Maia vs. Viviane Araujo

The UFC is headed back to Austin, Texas, and the first bout on the card is a women’s flyweight match between Jennifer Maia and Viviane Araujo.

Combate was the first to report the UFC will head back to Austin on June 27 for a Fight Night card and the first to report the Maia vs. Araujo matchup. At this time, no other bouts for the card have been revealed.

In a shallow women’s 125lbs division, this fight between Maia and Araujo could see the winner get very close to getting a title shot against UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, who fights earlier in June at UFC 251 against Joanne Calderwood.

Maia (17-6-1) is currently the No. 4 ranked women’s flyweight. The 31-year-old Brazilian is the former Invicta FC flyweight champion and is so far 2-2 in the UFC with wins over No. 5 ranked Roxanne Modafferi and No. 10 Alexis Davis and losses to No. 2 ranked Katlyn Chookagian and recent Bellator flyweight addition Liz Carmouche.

Maia’s win over Modafferi has her ranked highly in the division but it should be noted she missed weight for that fight. She also missed weight against Chookagain, so it’s imperative she makes weight here against Araujo. Even if she beats Araujo in impressive fashion, that win won’t move her up the rankings if she does so without making weight.

Araujo (8-2) is currently the No. 7 ranked women’s flyweight. The 33-year-old Brazilian is 2-1 in the UFC with wins over Talita Bernardo and the aforementioned Davis with a loss to Jessica Eye in her last fight. She is a late bloomer who began her pro MMA career in 2015 and so far she has been quite impressive. A win here would over Maia help her bounce back after losing to Eye in her last fight at UFC 245.

What other fights would you like to see be placed on UFC Austin besides Jennifer Maia vs. Viviane Araujo?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/27/2020.