Rani Yahya vs. Johnny Bedford rematch set for UFC Fight Night 51 in Brasilia
A rematch between bantamweight Rani Yahya (19-8 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Johnny Bedford (19-11-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) is the latest addition to September’s UFC Fight Night 51 event.
UFC officials today announced the bout.
UFC Fight Night 51, which features a headlining rematch between heavyweights Andrei Arlovski and Antonio Silva, takes place Sept. 13 at Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in Brasilia, Brazil. The entire event streams on UFC Fight Pass.
Yahya and Bedford first met in April at UFC Fight Night 39, where he the bout was ruled a no-contest due to accidental headbutt. Following the 39-second bout, Bedford celebrated what he thought was a win but became livid when the fight was announced as a no-contest.
Yahya, a former WEC fighter, was on a three-fight UFC winning streak before a split-decision defeat to Tom Niinimaki in November. The Bedford fight followed and remains the 29-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt’s most recent bout.
Bedford followed the no-contest with a knockout loss to Cody Gibson (a replacement for Yahya, who was forced out of the planned rematch due to an injury) at UFC Fight Night 44 in June. The 31-year-old Texan is now winless (0-2 with one no-contest) in his past three fights. Prior to that, “The Ultimate Fighter 14″ semifinalist was on an 8-1 run with six stoppages.
The latest UFC Fight Night 51 card now includes:
Andrei Arlovski vs. Antonio Silva
Lukasz Sajewski vs. Leonardo Santos
Sergio Moraes vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Joe Riggs vs. Paulo Thiago
Igor Araujo vs. George Sullivan
Jessica Andrade vs. Valerie Letourneau
Efrain Escudero vs. Francisco Trinaldo
Johnny Bedford vs. Rani Yahya
