Amanda Ribas will make her return to the UFC Octagon on May 8 when she faces Angela Hill and Bellator 257 loses a fight — More on which fight has been pulled and the latest fight announcements from Fightful.
Amanda Ribas vs. Angela Hill
Amanda Ribas (10-2) will look to bounce back with a win on May 8 when she faces Angela Hill (13-9) on May 8, reports MMA Junkie. Ribas (no.10) had her momentum halted on Fight Island when she lost to Marina Rodriguez by TKO in round one. Hill meanwhile is looking to build on her win over Ashley Yoder. Prior to that, she had a three-fight winning streak stifled with back-to-back split decision losses to Claudia Gadelha and Michelle Waterson.
Aaron Pico vs. Aiden Lee off Bellator 257
Scott Coker has informed Insider that Aaron Pico (7-3) vs. Aiden Lee (9-4) has been canceled from Bellator 257. Pico has been withdrawn due to medical issues and the fight will be rebooked for a later card.
“The fight that was supposed to happen in April is being pushed back,” Coker said. “(Pico) has some medical issues that he had to take care of, so now he’s probably being pushed back to the second fight [event] in May, or June.”
Fabian Edwards vs. Austin Vanderford at Bellator 259
Austin Vanderford (10-0) will face off against Fabian Edwards (9-1) at Bellator 259 reports MMA Junkie. Vanderford confirmed the fight on his Instagram and cleverly angled the fight as "Paige VanZant's husband against Leon Edwards' table." Vanderford is an accomplished fighter in his own right and will be looking to build on his decision win over Vinicius de Jesus at Bellator 251. Meanwhile, Edwards looks to rebound from the first loss of his career, a split-decision loss to Costello van Steenis.
Tristan Connelly vs. Pat Sabatini
Tristan Connelly (14-6) will make his comeback fight after undergoing neck surgery when he faces Pat Sabatini (13-3) at UFC 261 reports MMA Junkie. Connelly made his UFC debut on short notice up a weight class against viral sensation Michel Perreira. Connelly defeated the high-flying Perreira and granted him his first loss by decision. Sabatini signed with the promotion earlier this year as a short-notice replacement to fight Rafael Alves but the fight was canceled when Alves missed weight by 11.5 pounds.
ONE TNT on 1 has late changes made to the card
ONE Championship will make their TNT debut and the card has had some late upheaval within 48 hours of the card on April 7. MMA Fighting report that Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane will now face Patrick Schmid in an MMA bout at ONE on TNT 1. Kane and Schmid's original opponents Mehdi Barhi and Rade Opacic have been removed from the card due to health and safety protocols. Kane will look to go 3-0 as a professional while Schmid is making his MMA debut. Chingiz Allazov and Enriko Kehl, a kickboxing fight that was scheduled for the ONE on TNT 3 event on April 21, will now take place this Wednesday night on TNT.
Other notable scheduled fights
Alex Martinez (7-0, 1 NC) vs. Loik Radzhabov (13-2-1) - PFL 1 - April 23
Josh Kwiatkowski (5-2) vs. Lucas Neufeld (5-1) - BFL 67 - June 4
For a full breakdown of all upcoming cards, please check out our events section!
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