A spot in the top 10 of the talent-rich flyweight division is on
the line at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s International
Fight Week.
As first reported on Monday by Eurosport
NL and later confirmed by
other outlets, Viviane
Araujo (13-6) and Tracy
Cortez (11-2) will toe the line at UFC
317. The two 125-pound contenders will square off on June 28,
inside of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. No main attraction is on
the books, nor is there an established lineup to determine whether
this match will serve on the main card or prelims.
The 38-year-old Brazilian has seen mixed results since reaching the
upper echelon of her weight class. While “Vivi” procured wins over
names like Jennifer
Maia and Karine
Silva, she suffered setbacks when facing Natalia
Silva, Amanda
Ribas and Alexa
Grasso in recent memory. When she made her company debut in
2019, she punched out Talita
Bernardo in the third frame. Since then, every one of her 11
outings has reached the final bell, win or lose.
Like Pereira, Cortez has gone the distance in several consecutive
bouts, including the entirety of her six-fight UFC tenure and then
some. Averaging just one fight a year, the Fight Ready product had
her 11-fight win streak snapped when she fell short against
Rose
Namajunas in July 2024. Before that, she beat opponents like
Jasmine
Jasudavicius and Melissa
Gatto as she slowly worked her way up the division.