Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight Jessica Eye will try to hold the line in the top 10 in July.
Per the UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN on Friday, Eye (15-10, 1 NC) will be making her return to the cage after just under a year off against Casey O'Neill (9-0) at UFC 276. The event will be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 2, as the conclusion of the promotion’s annual International Fight Week celebration. The fight is expected to be official soon, with O’Neill remarking on the upcoming matchup on her Instagram stories on Thursday.
“Evil” Eye expected to be back in action far sooner than July 2022, with her last fight taking place at UFC 264 in July 2021. An illness knocked her out of her UFC Fight Night 197 clash with Andrea Lee in November, and she was linked to a pairing with Manon Fiorot only to have to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury. Cleveland’s Eye has not gotten her hand raised since 2019, with three consecutive unanimous decision losses to Cynthia Calvillo, Joanne Wood and Jennifer Maia putting her on the skid she brings into this bout. A victory for Eye would prevent her from becoming the first female fighter in UFC history to hold a pair of four-fight losing streaks.
Australia’s O’Neill has yet to taste defeat as a pro after nine outings, including four inside the Octagon with three finishes under her belt. In February, “King Casey” took on former title challenger Roxanne Modafferi, winning a close split decision to improve her win streak, and placing her among the top 15 women in her weight class with the UFC. All but one of her career appearances has made it into the second round.
UFC 276 will go down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in July 2, and there is currently no headliner announced for the fight card. The only other matchup currently booked for the summer pay-per-view offering also comes in the flyweight division, when former bantamweight queen Miesha Tate drops down to 125 pounds against ex-title challenger Lauren Murphy.
More must-reads: