UFC announces 2 big fights, removes another from 2024 final event

The final UFC event of 2024 is not a pay-per-view event and may not feature a title fight, but it looks like the promotion will end with a bang at the end of the year.

On Tuesday, October 29, the UFC announced three fights for the December 14 event in Tampa, Florida. However, moments later, the account edited the post to remove the third fight.

The first post was about the Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas, which would be a key strawweight fight.

The edited post removed this fight and only confirmed Manel Kape vs. Bruno Silva and Vitor Petrino vs. Dustin Jacoby.

It’s unclear whether any fights will be main or side events, but it does make the card look solid on paper. The graphic released by the UFC does not reflect this situation latest rankings released earlier in the day. This may be why the Dern-Ribas fight was removed.

The graphic showed Dern in 12th place and Ribas in 9th as they finished sixth and ninth respectively. This is also possible Dern granted her wish be moved to the UFC 310 card for a rematch with Virna Jandiroba.

Tatiana Suarez was scheduled to fight Jandiroba, which would give the winner a title shot. However, Suarez was removed from the fight. It’s unclear whether she was injured or potentially saved for a championship shot against Weili Zhang at UFC 311 in January.

If that happens, Dern could face Jandiroba and have a chance to get into a 115-pound title shot. Dern defeated Janridoba via unanimous decision in December 2020.

We know that in the flyweight division, No. 8 Manel Kape will face No. 13 Bruno Silva. The fight is crucial for Kape, who has had several opportunities to climb to the next level in the division. He has lost, injured or lost weight, which prevents him from having a chance to fight for the UFC Flyweight Championship.

Additionally, promising Brazilian fighter Vitor Petrino will have a chance to bounce back when he faces veteran Dustin Jacoby. After scoring 11 straight wins and starting his MMA career, Petrino met a veteran with the perfect game plan for him in May when he lost to Anthony Smith via first-round submission.

It will be interesting to see if Petrino worked on his cardio leading up to the Jacoby fight. Here’s a look at the UFC card fight rumors in Tampa, per Tapology.

• Amanda Ribas vs. Mackenzie Dern (115 pounds)
• Dustin Jacoby vs. Vitor Petrino (205 pounds)
• Tracy Cortez vs. Miranda Maverick (125 pounds)
• Manel Kape vs. Bruno Silva (125 pounds)
• Cub Swanson vs. Billy Quarantillo (145 pounds)
• Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Marcos (135 pounds)
• Piera Rodriguez vs. Josefine Knutsson (115 pounds)
• Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos (205 pounds)
• Davey Grant vs. Ramon Taveras (135 pounds)
• Drakkar Klose vs. Joel Alvarez (155 pounds)
• Sean Woodson vs. Fernando Padilla (145 pounds)

Stay tuned for more information on the Tampa card and updates on the next fights against Dern, Ribas, Jandrioba, Suarez and Weili.