Unbeaten Ashlee Evans-Smith Replaces Injured Holly Holm at UFC 181 on Dec. 6

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Ashlee Evans-Smith will make her Octagon debut on short notice when she faces Raquel Pennington at UFC 181 in Las Vegas on Dec. 6.

The promotion announced the pairing on Wednesday. Former boxing world champion Holly Holm was originally slated to square off with Pennington, but the Jackson-Wink MMA product was forced to withdraw from the contest after suffering a neck injury.

UFC 181 takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center and is headlined by a welterweight title clash between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler. Anthony Pettis will put his 155-pound belt on the line against Gilbert Melendez in the co-feature.

The 27-year-old Evans-Smith is unbeaten in three professional outings. She is likely most known for her win over Fallon Fox at CFA 12 in October 2013, when she stopped her transgender opponent 3:15 into the third stanza. Evans-Smith last competed at WSOF 10, scoring a third-round TKO against Marciea Allen.

A competitor on Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Pennington debuted with the Las Vegas-based promotion at the show’s finale, taking a three-round verdict over Roxanne Modafferi. Most recently, the three-time Invicta FC veteran dropped a split-decision to Jessica Andrade at UFC 171 this past March.