The UFC has booked a big time bantamweight matchup for their card on January 30th. First reported by MMA Junkie, the promotion has finalized a rematch between top bantamweights Pedro Munhoz (18-5, 1 NC) and Jimmie Rivera (23-4).
These two top ten UFC bantamweights first fought back in 2015. That night, Rivera was able to edge Pedro Munhoz by split decision. For Jimmie Rivera, he will be looking to pick up his second consecutive victory.
The last time we saw Rivera was back on July 15th when he took on Cody Stamann. That night, Rivera was able to snap his two fight losing streak and pick up the unanimous decision victory.
Rivera has been one of the best bantamweights inside the UFC for some time now. Since joining the promotion back in 2015, he’s lost three times but those three opponents were Petr Yan, Aljamain Sterling, and Marlon Moraes.
Outside of those three, Rivera hasn’t been challenged much in the UFC. He’s gone to a decision multiple times and the only man to have forced a split decision will be the guy he’s taking on January 30th.
UFC bantamweight showdown
Pedro Munhoz will be trying to avenge the first Rivera loss and get back on the winning side of things on January 30th. Munhoz has lost two which is the first time that’s happened to him in his UFC career.
Munhoz is coming off of a split decision loss to Frankie Edgar back in August. The former UFC lightweight champion was making his bantamweight debut against Munhoz. In a five round war, either man could have walked away with their hand raised.
The majority of media members believed that Munhoz won that fight. However, the judges gave it to the former UFC champion. Prior to that loss, Munhoz had lost a unanimous decision to Aljamain Sterling which snapped a three fight winning streak.
Both of these men are looking to take another step towards the UFC title. A win is massively important for both, however, there has to be a ton of pressure on Munhoz having lost two in a row. Should be a fun one on January 30th.