Jimmie Rivera vs. Thomas Almeida Set For UFC On FOX 25
Jimmie Rivera is in line to continue an impressive winning streak this summer as he is scheduled not to travel to far from home. Rivera (20-1) will take on Thomas Almeida (22-1) in a bantamweight bout at UFC on FOX 25. The bout was first reported by Long Island-based Newsday.com and has yet to be officially announced by the promotion.
The event continues the promotion’s takeover of New York after legislation was passed to legalize MMA in the state in 2016. Last November, the promotion held UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden in New York City, a Fight Night event took place in Albany in December and UFC 208 was held February in Brooklyn. And in April, UFC 210 was in Buffalo.
Rivera has held titles for major regional promotions King of the Cage, Ring of Combat at CFFC. He has also fought under the Bellator MMA and WSOF banners during his career. Following his successful CFFC bantamweight title defense via a knockout of Carson Beebe in May 2015, he signed with the UFC and hasn’t looked back. He has three straight decision wins over Pedro Munhoz, Iuri Alcantara, and Urijah Faber, with the latter coming this past September at UFC 203 in Cleveland.
On the flip side, Almeida got back on track this past November with a bonus-winning second-round TKO of Albert Morales at UFC Fight Night 100. Before that fight, he suffered the first loss of his pro career, a first-round knockout setback against Cody Garbrandt at UFC Fight Night 88’s main event. Almeida was on fire at one point in his career as he had 21 straight wins.
UFC on FOX 25 takes place on Saturday, July 22 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. The prelims will air on UFC Fight Pass, which is the official streaming service of the promotion, and FOX Sports 1 while the main card will air on FOX. The UFC has yet to announce the main event but has announced two other bouts. Here is the updated lineup:
Patrick Cummins vs. Gian Villante
Frankie Perez vs. Chris Wade
Thomas Almeida vs. Jimmie Rivera
