MMA Odds and Ends for Wednesday: ‘Cyborg’ Justino says she’s fighting Germaine de Randamie at UFC 214

Cyborg’ Justino says she’s fighting Germaine de Randamie at UFC 214

Cristiane Justino announced on Instagram Tuesday that she will face UFC women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie at UFC 214 in July. UFC officials have not confirmed the matchup.

July 29th I will be making my first @ufc fight in the USA!! I am excited the event will be in my American backyard of Orange County California and I am looking forward to putting on an exciting fight against @ironladymma! I know many of my fans never thought they would see a day where I would be fighting for the #ufc belt but the time has come! information on sponsorship options and ticket details coming soon! #letsgochamp after 10 months outside the cage #cyborgnation returns! ?????????????????? 29 de Julho Vou fazer a minha primeira luta @ufc nos EUA !! Estou animada o evento será na minha área nos usa de Orange County Califórnia e estou ansiosa para colocar uma luta emocionante contra @ironladymma! Eu sei que muitos dos meus fãs nunca pensou que eles iriam ver um dia onde eu estaria lutando pelo cinturão #ufc, mas chegou a hora! Informações sobre opções de patrocínio e detalhes do bilhete em breve! #letsgochamp depois de 10 meses fora da sem lutar #cyborgnation retorna!

A post shared by CRISTIANE V JUSTINO ??★ (@criscyborg) on Apr 18, 2017 at 12:37pm PDT

Justino (17-1) has gone 2-0 in the UFC with dominant victories over Leslie Smith and most recently Lina Länsberg at UFC Fight Night 95 in September of last year. The 31-year-old has been inactive recently due to an issue with USADA (which has since been cleared up. De Randamie (7-3) won the vacant UFC women’s featherweight title in a controversial unanimous decision victory over Holly Holm earlier this year at UFC 214.

Elias Theodorou vs. Brad Tavares, Gray Maynard vs. Teruto Ishihara added to the TUF 25 Finale in Las Vegas

FloCombat broke the news recently that middleweights Elias Theodorou and Brad Tavares will clash at the TUF 25 Finale in Las Vegas on July 7th. In addition, The Las Vegas Review journal reports that Gray Maynard will battle Teruto Ishihara in a featherweight matchup. Theodorou (13-1) has gone 5-1 in the UFC, with his lone loss a unanimous-decision setback to Thiago Santos in December 2015. The TUF Nations winner is coming off a unanimous-decision victory over Cezar Ferreira at UFC Fight Night Halifax back in February.

Tavares (14-4) hasn’t fought since September where he earned a split-decision win over Caio Magalhães at UFC 203. The TUF 11 contestant will be looking for his first two-fight win streak since 2014. Maynard (12-6-1) is coming off a unanimous-decision loss to Ryan Hall at the TUF 24 Finale in December, which dropped his record at featherweight to 1-1. The 37-year-old is 1-6 in his last seven bouts. Ishihara (9-3-2) heads into this matchup off a unanimous-decision loss to Artem Lobov at UFC Fight Night 99 which snapped a three-fight unbeaten streak.

Jared ‘Flash’ Gordon vs Michel Quinones set for UFC 211 in Dallas

UFC officials announced Tuesday that Jared Gordon will make his UFC debut against fellow promotional newcomer Michael Quinones. Gordon (12-1) defeated Bill Algeo in his last fight at CFFC 63, which was also featured on “Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight.” The 28-year-old was then offered a contract and heads into his debut on a four-fight win streak. Quinones (8-1) was slated to make his UFC debut in February at UFC Fight Night 105, however, an injury forced him out of that matchup. The 32-year-old is on a five-fight win streak.

WSOF re-brands itself as “Professional Fight League”

World Series of Fighting announced in a press release earlier on Wednesday that the promotion will now call itself the “Professional Fight League” Here’s chairman Russ Ramsey speaking about the new promotion…

“Professional Fighters League, described the new league as a transformative moment for MMA: “The Professional Fighters League brings a proven sports format that fans love and athletes respect to MMA for the first time. Featuring a regular season, post-season, and championship structure, the launch of the Professional Fighters League continues the evolution of MMA into a professional, mass-market, prime-time sport for a global audience.” The new league is open to all professional MMA fighters worldwide. Fighters will participate in one of seven weight classes and compete in regularly scheduled fights throughout a season. At the end of the regular season, fighters with the best records will advance to a “win-or-go-home” post-season playoff tournament. Each tournament winner in the seven weight classes will be named the Professional Fighters League season champion and collect a $1 million cash prize. An additional $3 million will be shared between other regular season and playoff competitors. The Professional Fighters League format gives every fighter an equal and fair shot, and provides fans the excitement and transparency of a true sport.”

The press release also states that the promotion will launch in January 2018, with a $10 million prize pool distributed across all seven weight classes. However, when I spoke to a PFL official this morning, they said there will be events in 2017 as well.

Spoke to @MMAWorldSeries. They are holding events: June 30th 10 p.m. ET, September 30th 9 p.m. ET, October 14: 11 p.m. ET and November 4th TBA

— James Lynch (@LynchOnSports) April 19, 2017