Former title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz returns to face Diana Belbita at UFC Vegas 80

Karolina Kowalkiewicz will return to the octagon next month as she faces women's strawweight contender Diana Belbita at UFC Vegas 80. Mixed martial arts journalist Marcel Dorff of Eurosport_NL broke the news, tweeting:

"Karolina Kowalkiewicz will fight Diana Belbiţă at #UFCVegas80 on October 7th. (per ESPN) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFC2023"

Check out Marcel Dorff's tweet announcing Karolina Kowalkiewicz's upcoming bout with Diana Belbita below:

Kowalkiewicz challenged Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the UFC women's strawweight at UFC 205 in 2016 after defeating Rose Namajunas via split decision in a title eliminator at UFC 201. She lost the bout via unanimous decision, marking the first loss of her professional mixed martial arts career.

While she has been unable to work her way back into title contention, Kowalkiewicz is on a three-fight winning streak. Her recent run of success follows a five-fight losing streak that seemingly put her UFC future in jeopardy.

All in all, 'Polish Princess' holds a professional mixed martial arts record of 15 wins and seven losses. She had one knockout victory, three submission victories, and 11 decision victories. She has one loss via knockout, two losses via submission, and four losses via decision. Kowalkiewicz has eight wins and seven losses since making her UFC debut in 2015.

Belbita does not have the same experience in the UFC but also holds a professional mixed martial arts record of 15 wins and seven losses. She has six victories via knockout, four via submission, and five via decision. 'The Warrior Princess' has never been knocked out. However, she has been submitted four times and lost via decision three times.

She has just two wins and three losses since making her UFC debut in 2019. Belbita lost her first two bouts at women's flyweight before moving to women's strawweight. She will enter UFC Vegas 80 after a unanimous decision victory over Maria Oliveira at UFC 289.

---

Who will headline UFC Vegas 80?

UFC Vegas 80 will be headlined by a five-round bout featuring No.10-ranked lightweight Grant Dawson and unranked lightweight contender Bobby Green. David Van Auken of Fight Bananas was first with the news, tweeting:

"Breaking News 🚨 Grant Dawson is set for his first UFC Main Event against Bobby Green on October 7th in Las Vegas per sources"

Check out David Van Auken's tweet below:

While UFC Vegas 80 will mark the first main event of Dawson's UFC career, Green will fight in a main event for the second time. He previously did so when he faced Islam Makhachev on ten days' notice at UFC Fight Night 202.