UFC today announced the final bout for UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs Cro Cop 2, with Poland’s own Izabela Badurek set to face Russian Aleksandra ‘Stitch’ Albu in the third strawweight bout to appear on the card.
The announcement will be welcomed by the host nation, who have waited eagerly for UFC to hold an event in their country and will now see the card stacked with seven Polish fighters.
The exciting 115lbs female fighters will both make their UFC debut on April 11th. Moscow native Albu, with just one professional MMA fight on her record, will be looking to upset the Polish crowd in Krakow, as she takes on Badurek, who comes into the fight on the back of three first round finishes by submission.
Badurek said: “I can’t tell you how excited and happy I am that the UFC has given me this amazing opportunity! I feel very honored and privileged to be the very first Polish girl that gets to compete in the world-famous Octagon on Polish soil.
“With the support of the Polish fans, I want to kick off my UFC career in style and follow the footsteps of my compatriot Joanna Jedrzejczyk and shake up the strawweight division.
“The call-up to the UFC could not come at a better time for me: For the first time in my career I’m surrounded by a great team that believes in me. I want to pay back the confidence they have in me with another first-round finish in Krakow!”
This interesting addition makes it three women’s bouts on the card and the first time that a women’s strawweight bout has ever taken place in the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region, marking a significant step forward for women’s MMA in these territories.
UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs Cro Cop 2 is the first UFC event ever to take place in Poland and will culminate in a five round heavyweight rematch between Croatian Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga and Brazilian Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic.
The two veterans first met in 2007 on the card of UFC 70 in Manchester, England. ‘Cro Cop’ was eagerly anticipated as the next UFC heavyweight champion, but hearts were broken dramatically when Gonzaga knocked out the K-1 specialist with a memorable head kick.
Tickets will be available from Thursday February 26 via www.eventim.pl/UFC.
