LFA champ Lupita Godinez signs with UFC, meets Jessica Penne on April 17
Newly signed UFC fighter Lupita Godinez will get a former title challenger in her octagon debut.
Godinez (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) meets Jessica Penne (12-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) at UFC on ESPN 22, which takes place April 17 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the booking Thursday, but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Godinez, a 27-year-old Mexican fighter, is unbeaten in her pro MMA career. She won the strawweight title in her most recent outing when she beat Vanessa Demopoulos by majority decision at LFA 94.
Penne, who originally was slated to face Hannah Goldy this past Saturday at UFC 260, will make her long-awaited return to the octagon. Her bout with Goldy was rebooked for April 17, but Goldy was forced to withdraw due to unknown reasons. Penne is coming off a nearly four-year layoff due to multiple injuries and a lengthy battle with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
With the change, the current UFC on ESPN 22 lineup includes:
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Robert Whittaker
Bartosz Fabinski vs. Gerald Meerschaert
Juan Espino vs. Alexander Romanov
Drakkar Klose vs. Jeremy Stephens
Parker Porter vs. Chase Sherman
Tracy Cortez vs. Justine Kish
Austin Hubbard vs. Natan Levy
Alex Munoz vs. Luis Pena
Bill Algeo vs. Ricardo Ramos
Lupita Godinez vs. Jessica Penne
Anthony Birchak vs. Tony Gravely
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Jacob Malkoun
Zarah Fairn vs. Josiane Nunes