The UFC has finalized a big time women’s flyweight matchup with a spot in the top ten on the line. Tenth ranked Viviane Araujo (11-5) will look to defend her spot in the top ten as she takes on 12th ranked “King” Casey O’Neill (9-1).
The bout is scheduled to take place at UFC 293 in Australia on September 9th per MMA Fighting. Meni Mayer was the first to report that the fight was being worked on by the promotion. This is a massive fight for Viviane Araujo who desperately needs a win.
Last May, Araujo defeated Andrea Lee which made her 3-1 in her previous four with the lone loss coming to top contender Katlyn Chookagian. She got a main event slot against the now champion Alexa Grasso last October. A win would’ve likely earned her a title shot. Instead, she fell by decision.
She returned in March to take on Amanda Ribas and lost again by decision. Now, she’s back in 10th in the rankings and another loss could drop her even lower. UFC 293 is a massive event for the Brazilian.
UFC 293
“King” Casey O’Neill won her first nine professional bouts. After she defeated Roxanne Madafferi in Madafferi’s retirement fight, O’Neill was booked to take on former title challenger Jessica Eye last July at UFC 276. However, O’Neill suffered a torn ACL and had to pull out of the fight.
She wasn’t able to return until UFC 286 in March. Her London return was met with a ton of hype as she took on another former title challenger in Jennifer Maia. To be honest, this was a much tougher fight than the Eye fight and a tall task after coming back from an injury.
While she had moments in the fight particularly late in the fight, she dropped a decision losing her first professional bout. That said, she’s really not taking a step back. “King” Casey now gets another crack at someone in the top ten and if she wins, it’s only up from there.