James Vick Making Welterweight Debut Against Niko Price At UFC Tampa

James Vick

James Vick is slated to make the walk to the Octagon at a different weight class when he moves to welterweight to fight Niko Price. 

These two fighters are set to compete at the upcoming UFC Tampa event. A source confirmed the news to MMA Junkie following a report by Mike Heck. This marks Vick’s first fight at 170 pounds.

Vick announced the move to welterweight in July through a Facebook post after three straight losses at lightweight. He lost to Justin Gaethje by brutal knockout in August 2015 and then lost by unanimous decision to Paul Felder in February 2019. In his latest outing, he was viciously knocked out by Dan Hooker at UFC on ESPN 4 in July.

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On the flip side, Price has won three of his past five bouts. In his latest fight, Price was stopped by Geoff Neal via a second-round TKO after a back-and-forth war. UFC Tampa (also known as UFC on ESPN+ 19) is set to take place on Sat., Oct. 12, 2019, from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The main and preliminary cards will air on ESPN+. 

Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Michelle Waterson in a women’s strawweight bout will serve as the headliner of this show. The Las Vegas-based promotion will be announcing more fights in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card: 

  • Women’s strawweight bout: Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Michelle Waterson
  • Welterweight bout: Max Griffin vs. Alex Morono
  • Light heavyweight bout: Devin Clark vs. Ryan Spann
  • Flyweight bout: J.J. Aldrich vs. Lauren Mueller
  • Women’s strawweight bout: Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas
  • Flyweight bout: Tim Elliott vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
  • Featherweight bout: Kron Gracie vs. Cub Swanson
  • Light heavyweight bout: Eryk Anders vs. Gerald Meerschaert
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What do you think about Vick moving up to welterweight to face Price?