The UFC added a pair of flyweight title fights to its UFC 255 pay-per-view event in November. As reported by ESPN, per Dana White, both the men's and women's sides will see their respective belts up for grabs.
Current UFC men's flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo will make his first title defense against Cody Garbrandt. Figueiredo captured the belt in July in a rematch against Joseph Benavidez. Figueiredo had beaten Benavidez once before in February but he missed weight, making him ineligible to win the title. The two met again last month and Figueiredo left no questions as he won the belt via rear-naked choke.
Now he will attempt to defend the title against Cody Garbrandt, the former UFC bantamweight champion who will be making his debut in the flyweight division. Garbrandt won the bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz back in 2016 but immediately lost it to T.J. Dillashaw in his first title defense. He attempted to recapture the belt in an immediate rematch against Dillashaw but lost that as well. He went on to lose to Pedro Munhoz at UFC 235 in 2019 before finally returning to the win column in June of this year with a knockout victory against Raphael Assuncao at UFC 250.
Current women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will also be defending her belt at UFC 255. She will face former Invicta FC flyweight champion Jennifer Maia. Despite Maia's 3-2 record in her past five fights, she took the No. 1 contender's spot by defeating Joanne Calderwood via first-round submission earlier this month.
Shevchenko will be seeking her fourth title defense. She has previously fended off Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, and Katlyn Chookagian. Shevchenko hasn't fought since her TKO win at UFC 247 in February of this year as she has been recovering from a leg injury.
UFC 255 will take place on November 21. The location has not yet been announced.