MANILA: A new date has been given to Filipino Jenel Lausa for his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut after the UFC Fight Night Manila show got scrapped, local media reports said.
Lausa is still up against Chinese fighter Yao Zhikui in the undercard of UFC Fight Night – Rockhold vs. Souza at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on Nov. 26, reported Sun Star.
The UFC show in Manila was cancelled after UFC legend BJ Penn pulled out of his main event fight against Ricardo Lamas due to an injury in training. Lausa was one of the main featured fights of that event, the report said.
Lausa caught the eye of the UFC after an impressive run in the Guam-based MMA organization Pacific Xtreme Combat (PXC), it added.
The 28-year-old Lausa, also an unbeaten boxer, reportedly won his last four fights in the PXC and even won the PXC flyweight belt with a split decision win over Team Lakay’s Crisanto Pitpitunge in January.
Lausa is 6-2 in MMA and also owns a 7-0 slate in boxing, said the news portal.
Yao made his UFC debut with a split decision loss against Royston Wee in 2014. The following year, he captured his first UFC victory, via split decision against Filipino-American Nolan Ticman in Manila.
The 25-year-old Chinese lost his last fight, a first round stoppage against Fredy Serrano, reported Sun Star, adding that Yao is 2-4 in his four-year MMA career.
