March 12, 2019
With just a few weeks remaining until UFC makes its return to Philadelphia for the first time since 2011, we're one step closer to having the full card for the March 30th UFC Fight Night at the Wells Fargo Center.
With 10 fights already confirmed by UFC officials, PhillyVoice has learned that fight No. 11 will be a bantamweight bout between Alex Perez and Mark De La Rosa.
For this bout, Perez, 26, the seventh-ranked flyweight contender, will be jumping up a weight class to face De La Rosa. Back in December, Perez (21-5 overall, 4-1 in UFC) suffered a first-round TKO against No. 2 flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez, but prior to that, his last loss came back in May 2016, before he ever joined UFC. His opponent, the 24-year-old De La Rosa, is 11-1 overall with his only loss coming to Tim Elliott in his UFC debut in December 2017. Since, De La Rosa has won both of his bouts.
After the latest announcement from UFC, there's room for one more fight on the Philly card, and if you've been following our recent coverage of the upcoming Philly card, then you might have an idea of what that final bout is going to be.
Last week, we noted that Cage Fury Fighting Championship's Sean Brady, a Philly native and the locally-based promotion's current welterweight champ, had been called up to UFC after another successful title defense in Atlantic City last month.
Another champion answers the call after a successful @CFFCMMA career and heads to the big show.
— Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC) (@CFFCMMA) March 7, 2019
📞RING RING @seanbradymma 👏 @ufc
🎬Watch the video:https://t.co/2kxf6ffxxW
Despite sources telling PhillyVoice that Brady would be making his UFC debut in his hometown later this month, UFC was unable to confirm, likely because they are still working out the details of his fight, including his opponent. Just getting the call up to UFC is a huge deal for the 26-year-old Burholme native, but the story would be even more perfect if it ends with him inside the octagon on March 30.
If Brady does officially get added to the card, here's a look at the rest of the bouts he'll be joining:
Lightweight (main event): Edson “Junior” Barboza vs Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje
Middleweight: David Branch vs. Jack "The Joker" Hermansson
Women's Strawweight: Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson
Featherweight: Sodiq Yusuff vs. Sheymon Moraes
Women's Strawweight: Alexa Grasso vs. Marina Rodriguez
Lightweight: Ross "The Real Deal" Pearson vs. Desmond "The Predator" Green
Light Heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Paul “BearJew” Craig
Women's Flyweight: Sabina Mazo vs. Maryna “Iron Lady” Moroz
Featherweight: Enrique "El Fuerte" Barzola vs. Kevin Aguilar
Bantamweight: Liu Pingyuan vs. Ray "The Tazmexican Devil" Borg
Bantamweight: Alex Perez vs. Mark De La Rosa
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