The two highest ranked Ohio MMA fighters not named Stipe Miocic will be back in action inside the UFC’s Octagon this fall, as both Matt Brown (20-13, 13-7 UFC) and Jessica Eye (11-3, 1-2 UFC) were recently scheduled for bouts.
Brown is set to take on Kelvin Gastelum (11-1, 6-1 UFC) in the main event at UFC Fight Night 78 on Nov. 21 in Monterrey, Mexico. The pivotal welterweight matchup pits the No. 5 ranked Brown against the formerly ranked Gastelum. Gastelum was nearing top ten status as a welterweight before weight cutting issues forced him to move up to middleweight for a fight.
With 20 UFC fights now under his belt, Brown appears to be in the prime of his career. The 34-year-old nearly received his UFC walking papers after three straight submission losses in 2010, but he saved his job with a win over John Howard at UFC on Versus 4. After another submission loss set him back, he then went on a tear, reeling off seven straight wins, including six via stoppage. Nearing title contention, he then dropped back-to-back bouts to current champion Robbie Lawler and former champion Johny Hendricks. “The Immortal” rebounded with a win over Tim Means at UFC 189 in July, though, and comes in looking to distance himself from those losses and start a winning streak.
Gastelum competed as a middleweight on The Ultimate Fighter 17, eventually upsetting heavy favorite Uriah Hall to win the show’s tournament. The 23-year-old won his first five UFC fights, but he dropped the first fight of his career against Tyron Woodley after badly missing weight. UFC officials forced him to move up to middleweight, but after a dominant win over Nate Marquardt in June, he’ll get his wish as he’s allowed to drop back to 170 pounds. This will be the third time that the fighter of Mexican hertiage has competed south of the border, as he earned victories at UFC 180 and UFC 188 in Mexico City.
Eye is set for a pivotal bout as well, as she is set to face TUF 18 champ Julianna Pena (6-2, 2-0 UFC) in a women’s bantamweight clash at UFC 192 on Oct. 3 in Houston. The matchup features the No. 6 ranked Eye looking to hold serve against the surging No. 11 ranked Pena.
Eye has had a rocky start to her UFC career, as the 29-year-old Cleveland native is officially just 1-2 with a no contest through four outings. She opened up her career with a win over former Strikeforce champ Sarah Kaufman at UFC 166, but it was overturned after marijuana was found in her system during the post-fight drug test. She then dropped a decision to future title challenger Alexis Davis in her return, before earning a TKO over Leslie Smith at UFC 180 last November to pick up her first official UFC win. Now, she’ll look to distance herself from a loss to Miesha Tate that came in a title eliminator last month at UFC on FOX 16.
Pena looks to continue her climb up the UFC rankings after winning TUF 18. The 25-year-old earned a TKO over Jessica Rakoczy to claim the show’s tournament, but then sat out all of 2014 with a major injury. She returned in April, however, as she stopped Milana Dudieva in the first round to pick up the third TKO of her career.
Stay tuned to BluegrassMMA.com for more on Matt Brown, Jessica Eye, UFC Fight Night 78, and UFC 192.