It was recently announced that Legacy Fighting Alliance Women’s Flyweight Champion Andrea Lee had been pulled from UFC 216 due to a USADA rule for fighters who failed past drug tests.
Kalindra Faria was to be Lee’s opponent on the card and as of now, the fighter is still on the card, but has no opponent.
This is where former UFC fighter and former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Sarah Kaufman comes into the picture.
Kaufman, who hasn’t competed in the UFC since losing a split decision to Valentina Shevchenko at UFC On Fox 17, is willing to step in on short notice to fight Faria.
The former title holder stated her case on Twitter:
I'll step in at 135lb with Kalindra next week! Talk of us fighting at 135 in December, so let's just move it up a few months https://t.co/tzVMeNox2i
— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) September 28, 2017
Despite her last bout in the UFC coming in 2015, the former Striekforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion has only competed once since then. That lone fight was a decision win over Invicta FC veteran Jessica-Rose Clark at the inaugural Battlefield Fighting Championships events.
UFC officials have yet to make any kind of announcement regarding Faria remaining on UFC 216 or Kaufman taking the fight on short notice.
UFC 216 takes place on Saturday, October 7 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
