Russian UFC knockout Yana 'Foxy' Kunitskaya handed tough octagon assignment against Ketlen Vieira

16 Jun, 2020 17:54

Former Invicta bantamweight champion Yana 'Foxy' Kunitskaya will attempt to rebound from her December defeat to Aspen Ladd when she takes on the tough Ketlen Vieira at the UFC's August 1 event.

Kunitskaya, who has gone 2-2 throughout her UFC tenure to date, will be looking to land one step closer to champion Amanda Nunes' 135lbs championship by taking on the division's seventh-ranked fighter in Vieira in August.

Details as to the official name and location of the event have not yet been made public. 

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Vieira, for her part, has looked impressive in the cage since debuting with the organization in October 2016. She won her first four fights inside the UFC, including wins over the likes of Sara McMann and Cat Zingano, however the Brazilian also came up short in her last performance when she was knocked out with just seconds remaining in the first round of her fight with Irene Aldana last December.

Kunitskaya took to Instagram late on Monday to post a photograph of her bout agreement, asking fans who they would like to see her fight - but the cat appears well and truly out of the bag.

The fight is expected to provide further clarity among the contenders near the top of the UFC's women's bantamweight division.

Champion Amanda Nunes (who also holds the promotion's featherweight title) revealed that she would like some time off from competition following her recent victory against Felicia Spencer, which could allow a new generation of contenders to stake their claim to fight the most dominant female champion in mixed martial arts history.

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Notably, another fight which could impact the rankings was previously announced as taking place on the same August card, with former champion Holly Holm taking on Vieira's conqueror Aldana at the event.

Kunitskaya made headlines several weeks ago with an April Fool's joke suggesting that she was pregnant with the child of UFC light heavyweight Thiago Santos.