The stakes will be high at 125 pounds when the UFC makes its return to Edmonton, Alberta, this coming November 2.
Mixed martial arts' leading promotion hasn't been in "The Big E" since staging UFC 240 at Rogers Place in 2019. The venue will once again be the host for in-cage action when the Octagon heads back to Canada, this time in the form of a UFC Fight Night.
While announcing the event to Sportsnet this week, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that elite flyweights Erin Blanchfield (12-2) and Rose Namajunas (13-6) will headline proceedings in "The Great White North."
"Cold Blooded" currently sits at #3 in the rankings but is coming off her first UFC defeat, having been outpointed by Manon Fiorot in the Atlantic City main event this past March.
"Thug Rose," meanwhile, has risen to #5 on the ladder after bouncing back from a divisional debut loss to Fiorot in Paris by reeling off consecutive headline victories over Amanda Ribas and Tracy Cortez.
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Derrick Lewis Gets Co-Main Billing At UFC Fight Night Edmonton
Before Namajunas, a former two-time UFC strawweight champion, and Blanchfield do battle to close out the show, another notable name will be in action on Nov. 2.
White also announced the co-main event for the upcoming UFC Fight Night in Edmonton, and it'll see heavyweight knockout artist Derrick Lewis (28-12, 1 NC) return against fellow ranked contender Alexandr Romanov (17-3).
"The Black Beast" will be in pursuit of his first win streak since a knockout of Curtis Blaydes secured him a title shot back in 2021. He's since gone 3-5, most recently rebounding from a five-round loss to Jailton Almeida in Brazil last November by stopping Rodrigo Nascimento in the UFC Fight Night St. Louis main event this past May.
Romanov, meanwhile, is sat two places below Lewis in the pecking order at #13. Defeats to Marcin Tybura and Alexander Volkov initially stalled his planned surge toward the top 10. And although he was able to bounce back at the expense of Blagoy Ivanov in 2023, he was most recently comfortably submitted by Almeida at UFC 302 in Newark.
With the recent announcements, the fights currently expected to take place at UFC Fight Night Edmonton on Nov. 2 are as follows:
- Erin Blanchfield vs. Rose Namajunas (women's flyweight main event)
- Derrick Lewis vs. Alexandr Romanov (heavyweight co-main event)
- Ariane da Silva vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius (women's flyweight)
- Marc-André Barriault vs. Dustin Stoltzfus (middleweight)
- Chad Anheliger vs. Cody Gibson (bantamweight)
- Jamey-Lyn Horth vs. Ivana Petrović (women's flyweight)
