Kayla Harrison’s second UFC appearance is expected to take place in October against Ketlen Vieira. Harrison confirmed the matchup on social media following multiple reports that she and Viera had agreed to fight on an Oct. 5 card in Salt Lake City expected to be UFC 307, an event the organization has not officially announced.
The former two-time Olympic gold medallist in judo is 17-1 in mixed martial and a former PFL champion. Harrison submitted one-time champion Holly Holm in April at UFC 300 in her anticipated promotional debut.
Vieira, 32, is 8-3 in the UFC with notable wins over Holm and another former champ Miesha Tate. She last fought in July 2023 when she won a three-round decision over Pannie Kianzad.
Harrison holds two wins over the lone fighter to beat her and she debuted in the UFC’s 135-pound rankings as the No. 3 contender, one spot behind Viera, following her dominant UFC victory.
Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter reported earlier this year a pay-per-view event would likely take place in Salt Lake City in October when he broke the news that Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena was being targeted. The UFC has not made an official announcement about the Delta Center event.
A featherweight matchup between Movsar Evloev and Aljamain Sterling plus a fun middleweight scrap Chris Curtis and Kevin Holland have since also been confirmed for Oct. 5 and Sterling, a former bantamweight titleholder, won’t be the only past champion to compete on the card.
Jose Aldo is back for another bout. The former UFC featherweight champion confirmed he is set to take on rising talent Mario Bautista who has won six in a row over the past three years. Aldo returned from a brief retirement in May at UFC 301 when he defeated Jonathan Martinez via unanimous decision.
Former two-time UFC strawweight champ Carla Esparza announced Friday she will compete in the UFC for the final time on Oct. 5 in a retirement bout against Tecia Pennington, the wife of Raquel Pennington. Esparza has not fought since her second title reign ended at UFC 281 when she was submitted by current champion Zhang Weili. The 36-year-old is also a former Invicta FC champion and was the winner of the first all-female season of The Ultimate Fighter.
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