On Thursday afternoon, UFC officials announced the addition of a women’s bantamweight fight between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko to UFC 196 (formally UFC 197) in March.

Nunes (11-4) will enter this contest riding an impressive two-fight win streak, with both victories coming by way of first round stoppage. In her most recent contest, “The Lioness” walked away with a first round submission win over former wrestling silver medalist and UFC title contender Sarah McMann in August. Prior to this win, the Brazilian finished Shayna Baszler with leg kicks in March.

Shevchenko (12-1), a multiple time kickboxing and muy thai champion, is coming off the biggest win of her career where fans saw her earned a split decision in her UFC debut against former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman. This marked just the third time the 27 year old Kyrgyzstani reached the judges scorecard.

UFC 196 is currently scheduled to take place March 7 in Las Vegas. A lightweight title fight between reigning champion Rafael dos Anjos vs. featherweight champion Conor McGregor will serve as the main event. A women’s bantamweight title fight between Holly Holm and Miesha Tate will also take place on the carx

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José began his career as a mixed martial arts journalist while still enrolled at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University. Since graduating in May 2013, he has attended dozens of high profile UFC fight cards as a credentialed member of the media, providing live cage side coverage through his articles and videos. His work has appeared on UFC.com, ArizonaSports.com and AZCentral. He is also currently one of the main contributors on Power MMA Show at Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, one of the first all MMA radio shows on a major radio station.