Dione Barbosa Vs Veronica Hardy added to UFC Fight Night Oklahoma July 18th

Cyborg Nation fans will be excited to know that Dione Barbosa already has her return to the UFC octagon.  A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt, Dione Barbosa spent time as one of Cris Cyborg’s premier training partners when she was fighting in LFA and ahead of her Dana White Contenders Series victory.  Now 3-2 in the UFC, Dione Barbosa is riding off a win over Melissa Gatto in her last UFC performance.

The UFC will head to Oklahoma for the first time in almost 10 years, and the card has announced a bout between Dione Barbosa and Veronica Hardy will be placed on the fight card. The event is rumored to take place July 18th and will be the last time the UFC has been in Oklahoma City since 2017.  A event was scheduled in 2020 but the COVID 19 pandemic led to it’s cancellation.

Veronica Hardy is 5-5 in the UFC and has a professional Mixed martial arts record of 10-5-1 overall.   Married to former UFC standout Dan Hardy who is currently an on air personality for the PFL MMA league, Hardy from Venezuela picked up a decision win her last time in the cage against Brogan Walker after droping a decision to Eduarda Moura in a fight that snapped a three fight winning streak with victories over Juliana Miller, Jamey Lyn Horty, and JJ Aldrich all by way of decision.

The bout will be a pivotal bout bout in the UFC women’s 125lbs division as both Veronica Hardy and Dione Barbosa have established themselves as veterans in the flyweight class and are looking to establish themselves in the rankings as they look to climb into a contender sport.  For Veronica a win puts her back into the top 15 conversations while Barbosa would be looking for her first Back-to-back victories inside the UFC octagon.

Cris Cyborg a long time training partner of Dione Barbosa had this to say about the fight and matchup, “It’s exciting to see Dione get a quick return to the UFC cage.  Each experience inside the cage is making her a better, more well rounded, more intelligenet fighter and I expect to see her continued growth with this next fight.” What do you think Cyborg Nation? Will Dione Barbosa secure another UFC win inside of the premier fighting league?