Molly McCann will be going up against a Brazilian strawweight at UFC Fight Night 255, but it won’t be Istela Nunes.
With Nunes out, in steps Alexia Thainara, a Dana White’s Contender Series signee and promotional debutant. McCann (14-7 MMA, 7-6 UFC) and Thainara (11-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will fight March 22 at the O2 in London.
The promotion made the fight official Friday, and added that Nunes (6-5 MMA, 0-4 UFC) is out of the bout due to visa issues. Ag. Fight first reported the change Thursday.
McCann, 34, has lost three of her most recent four outings. She most recently competed in July when she was defeated by Bruna Brasil via unanimous decision.
Thainara, 27, wowed many viewers during her UFC-contract earning DWCS appearance in September as she largely dominated then-LFA champion Rose Conceicao en route to a unanimous decision. Six of her 11 career victories have come by decision.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 255 lineup includes:
- Leon Edwards vs. Sean Brady
- Jan Blachowicz vs. Carlos Ulberg
- Kevin Holland vs. Gunnar Nelson
- Molly McCann vs. Alexia Thainara
- Chris Duncan vs. Jordan Vucenic
- Morgan Charriere vs. Nathaniel Wood
- Jai Herbert vs. Chris Padilla
- Felipe Dos Santos vs. Lone’er Kavanagh
- Mick Parkin vs. Marcin Tybura
- Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Andrey Pulyaev
- Shauna Bannon vs. Puja Tomar
- Nathan Fletcher vs. Caolan Loughran
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 255.
