The bout between Michael Johnson and Ottman Azaitar has been confirmed, among other matchups, for UFC Fight Night at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on December 14. The pair battles it out at lightweight.
38-year-old Johnson (22-19) makes his second Octagon appearance for the year and targets the second win in a row. The St. Louis, Missouri native bounced back from the defeat by KO against Carlos Diego Ferreira last May, scoring a unanimous decision over Darrius Flowers in February.
Coming off a pair of defeats, German-Moroccan Azaitar (13-2) fights for the first time in 2024. The 34-year-old lost both fights via first-round stoppage against Francisco Prado last July and Matt Frevola in November 2022.
Also confirmed for the event, a featherweight bout between Cub Swanson (29-14) of Palm Springs, California and Billy Quarantillo (18-6) of Ransomville, New York. Plus, a flyweight contest between Tracy Cortez (14-5) of Phoenix, Arizona and Miranda Maverick (14-5) of Tunas, Missouri.
In addition, a strawweight rematch, pitting Brazil’s Amanda Ribas (13-5) against Mackenzie Dern (14-5) of Phoenix, Arizona, has also been made official. The bout currently sits atop the UFC Tampa fight card.
The promotion formally announced all four matchups on Wednesday via post on X.
Among other recently confirmed bouts for the event, Vitor Petrino (11-1) of Brazil takes on Dustin Jacoby (19-9-1) of Fort Morgan, Colorado at light heavyweight. As well, Manel Kape (19-7) of Angola goes up against Bruno Gustavo da Silva (14-5-2, 1 NC) of Brazil at flyweight.
The current UFC Fight Night Tampa card looks as the following:
- Amanda Ribas vs. Mackenzie Dern
- Cub Swanson vs. Billy Quarantillo
- Tracy Cortez vs. Miranda Maverick
- Michael Johnson vs. Ottman Azaitar
- Joel Alvarez vs. Drakkar Klose
- Vitor Petrino vs. Dustin Jacoby
- Manel Kape vs. Bruno Gustavo da Silva
- Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos
- Josefine Lindgren Knutsson vs. Piera Rodriguez
- Davey Grant vs. Ramon Taveras
- Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Marcos
- Sean Woodson vs. Fernando Padilla