The Ultimate Fighting Championship heads to Uruguay for the first time as UFC Fight Night 156 takes place Aug. 10 in Montevideo, Uruguay. A number of ranked fighters are competing in the event, so let’s take a look at them and the possible implications their fights could have on the rankings.
In the main event, Valentina Shevchenko will look to defend her women’s flyweight title for a second time when she faces Liz Carmouche. Shevchenko (17-3) has looked unstoppable since moving to her natural weight class, as she currently rides a three-fight winning streak. She notably won the title by outpointing Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and most recently defeated Jessica Eye with a brutal head kick knockout. With her only two promotional losses coming to Amanda Nunes, “Bullet” is ranked as the second-best women’s pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to Sherdog. ESPN rate her at second as far as female fighters go while the UFC rankings have her at No. 13 pound-for-pound.
Meanwhile, Carmouche (13-6) will look to win UFC gold for the first time. “Girlrilla” notably holds a TKO (doctor stoppage) win over Shevchenko when they fought back in 2010 for a local promotion. However, that was a long time ago and things are much different now. Still, Carmouche is one of the top female fighters in the promotion and is currently on a two-fight winning streak following decision wins over Jennifer Maia and Lucie Pudilova. As a result, she is rated as the fourth-best women’s flyweight in the world by Sherdog and ESPN, while she is also No. 3 in the UFC rankings. A win for Carmouche in Uruguay could also see her enter the pound-for-pound ranks.
In the co-main event, Vicente Luque takes on the always-entertaining Mike Perry in a welterweight contest. Luque (16-6-1) is on a five-fight winning streak and has also won nine of his last 10 outings, with all of them impressively coming via knockout or submission. Those performances finally saw him crack the rankings as he sits at No. 15 in the welterweight division. Another win, possibly a finish, could see him make the climb up further.
Perry (13-4) will be looking to put an end to Luque’s winning run, however, and make it two wins in a row for himself in the process. “Platinum” is coming off a decision win over Alex Oliveira but has gone 2-3 in his last five fights. He will be looking to build some consistency now and a win over Luque would not only be arguably the biggest of his career, but also insert himself back into the rankings.
Ranked light heavyweights also collide on the main card as former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir meets Ilir Latifi. After a meteoric rise that saw him earn a title shot, Oezdemir (15-4) has now gone 0-3 in his last three fights. While many argued that he should have come out on top against Dominick Reyes, “No Time” is in desperate need of a victory. Luckily for him, he is still ranked as the 10th-best light heavyweight in the world by Sherdog and ESPN, while he is also No. 7 in the UFC rankings. A long-awaited first win since 2017 could see him make the climb back up.
As for Latifi (14-6, 1 NC), he is coming off a decision loss to Corey Anderson, after previously going on a two-fight winning streak with wins over Tyson Pedo and Ovince Saint Preux. Oddly enough, he is ranked above Oezdemir as the eighth-best light heavyweight in the world according to ESPN. The UFC rankings, though, have him below Oezdemir at No. 9. Regardless, a win for “The Sledgehammer” should also see him rise up the ranks.
Lastly, Tecia Torres returns to action as she faces the undefeated Marina Rodriguez in a women’s strawweight bout. Torres (10-4) is currently on a three-fight losing skid and like Oezdemir, is in desperate need of a win. She was most recently outpointed by Weili Zhang. However, she is still up there among the top 115ers, with ESPN rating her as the ninth-best strawweight in the world while she is No. 8 in the UFC rankings.
She faces no easy task, however, as Rodriguez (11-0) is yet to suffer defeat in her professional career. The Brazilian most recently outpointed veteran Jessica Aguilar and a win over Torres would not only be the biggest of her career, but also shoot her right up the ranks.