Two new matchups have recently been booked for UFC’s final pay-per-view event of the year. The pairings join UFC 269, which is set to take place on December 11th at a location that has not been confirmed at the moment.
Neal Looks To Break Losing Streak Against Ponzinibbio
Looking to avoid falling into a three-fight losing streak, Geoff Neal will face Santiago Ponzinibbio at welterweight, per Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie.
Neal has lost his last two bouts, dropping decisions to Stephen Thompson and Neil Magny. He was undefeated in the UFC before then, scoring five wins between 2018 and 2019.
Ponzinibbio handed Miguel Baeza his first pro loss in June, defeating him via unanimous decision. The victory put the UFC vet back into the win column after suffering a first-round finish loss against Li Jingliang early this year.
Blanchfield Steps In To Face Barber
Maycee Barber will remain on the UFC 269 lineup, now being matched against Erin Blanchfield. The flyweight pairing was reported by Nolan King of MMA Junkie first.
Blanchfield is stepping in for Montana De La Rosa, who reportedly withdrew from her booking last week. She is riding the momentum of a successful UFC debut from September, defeating Sarah Alpar via unanimous decision.
Before then, Blanchfield had attained a strong record of six wins and one loss in notable regional promotions like Invicta FC and CFFC.
Barber picked up a necessary win in her last outing, snapping a two-fight losing streak with a split decision victory against Miranda Maverick.
Updated Lineup:
A fight between UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier is currently set to headline UFC 269. Here’s how the card looks after the recent changes:
Bout 11: Charles Oliveira (31-8) vs. Dustin Poirier (28-6) (UFC Lightweight Championship)
Bout 10: Amanda Nunes (21-4) vs. Julianna Pena (10-4) (UFC Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 9: Kai Kara-France (22-9) vs. Cody Garbrandt (12-4) (Flyweight)
Bout 8: Randy Costa (6-2) vs. Tony Kelley (7-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Dricus Du Plessis (16-2) vs. Andre Muniz (21-4) (Middleweight)
Bout 6: Darrick Minner (26-12) vs. Ryan Hall (8-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Pedro Munghoz (19-6) vs. Dominick Cruz (23-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Sean O’Malley (14-1) vs. Raulian Paiva (21-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Leon Edwards (19-3) vs. Jorge Masvidal (35-15) (Welterweight)
Bout 2: Geoff Neal (13-4) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-4) (Welterweight)
Bout 1: Maycee Barber (9-2) vs. Erin Blanchfield (7-1) (Flyweight)
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