A bantamweight clash pitting Cody Garbrandt against Julio Arce has been booked for UFC 285.
Eurosport was first to report the pairing. UFC 285 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 4 and includes a women’s flyweight showdown between Amanda Ribas and Viviane Araujo as well as a middleight tilt between Bo Nickal and Jamie Pickett. A headliner for the card has not been confirmed.
Garbandt has struggled since 2017, losing five of his last six UFC appearances — a slump that began when he relinquished the 135-pound belt to T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 217. Most recently, “No Love” came up short in his flyweight debut, as he suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Kai Kara France at UFC 269 last December. Four of his last five defeats have been via knockout or technical knockout.
Arce, meanwhile, has alternated wins and losses in his last eight promotional outings. The Team Tiger Schulmann representative went 1-1 in 2022, outpointing Daniel Gustavo Santos at UFC 273 before dropping a three-round verdict to Montel Jackson at UFC 281.
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