UFC Strawweight superstar and Fight Bananas’ favorite Hannah Goldy (5-2) is now set to duke it out with Emily Whitmire at UFC Vegas on September 19. Goldy will take the place of Corey McKenna after the first Welsh female fighter to grace the UFC Octagon was ruled out.
The UFC originally scheduled the fight between Whitmire and McKenna at strawweight. But, due to the late addition of Goldy, the contest will now go down at flyweight instead.
News of “24k’s” addition to the Vegas card was broken by our very own Mr. David van Auken, an increasingly prominent and respected voice in the MMA community.
What happened to Corey McKenna?
Corey McKenna took to the social media platform Instagram to inform the MMA community of her withdrawal from the bout, citing mental health issues as the cause. The Welsh star posted:
“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm speculation about my scheduled fight on September 18th. I have been dealing with some health issues over the past 5-6 weeks that have not allowed me to train at a standard required to compete/at all. And I have to prioritise health. I want to thank the @ufcpi for all their continued help, as well as, my sponsors and team for their constant support; Hope to return to the octagon soon, Just another bump in the road.”
On behalf of the whole crew at Fight Bananas, we wish McKenna the very best in her recovery and hope to see her fighting fit and back in the Octagon ASAP.
What’s the lowdown on Hannah Goldy vs. Emily Whitmire?
Between Island Fights and the UFC Contender series, “24k” entered the UFC on the back of a five-fight win streak. Her all-action boxing displays caught the eye of fans of the show. Not to mention UFC boss Dana White who ultimately signed her to the roster.
Unfortunately for Goldy, her career to date inside the world’s premier MMA organization has been something of a stop-start affair. After a tough decision loss to Miranda Granger in her first bout on the undercard for UFC on ESPN 5, Goldy was forced to pull out of three consecutive fights during 2020.
Goldy missed out on the chance to butt heads with Loma Lookboonmee. And then twice had to pull out of fights with Jessica Penne after going down with COVID.
When Goldy finally returned to action in July of this year vs. Diana Belbita, the former Island Fights star was again on the wrong end of a judges’ decision, meaning the highly-touted and clearly talented Tampa native will now entertain Whitmire on the back of a two-fight skid.
Interestingly, Goldy’s opponent, Emily Whitmire (4-4) has also endured a fitful past 12 months with the UFC. “Spitfire” came up short in her last Octagon appearance vs. Polyana Viana in August 2020, which was her second straight defeat. Then, a direct parallel to Goldy’s recent big fight-frustrations, scheduled bouts with Hannah Cifers and Sam Hughes for February of this year were also scrapped due to withdrawals.
Both competitors are likely to have plenty of energy to burn when they face off on September 19 at UFC Vegas 37: Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann.
