Jessica Penne vs. Luana Pinheiro back on, set for April 30 UFC event
Jessica Penne vs. Luana Pinheiro will finally go down at the UFC Fight Night card planned for April 30 at a yet-to-be-announced location, multiple people with knowledge of the booking told MMA Fighting. Canal do Marinho first reported the news.
Penne and Pinheiro were first scheduled to face in a strawweight contest in November 2021, but Penne withdrew. Sam Hughes stepped in as a replacement and lost a decision to Pinheiro.
Penne (14-5), a former UFC strawweight contender and Invicta FC atomweight champion, returned from a four-year layoff in 2021 to win a split decision against Lupita Godinez, and followed it up with a first-round armbar against Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
Pinheiro (10-1) is unbeaten inside the octagon with a first-round knockout over Stephanie Frausto at Dana White’s Contender Series. Since joining the UFC, the Nova Uniao fighter had her hands raised against Randa Markos and Hughes.
The UFC has yet to announce the main event for the card. The lineup currently includes veterans Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon in a lightweight showdown.
Mike Heck contributed to this report.