By:  | July 30, 2022 4:08 pm

Ji Yeon Kim has missed weight twice during her UFC career. But the boot will be on the other foot this weekend as opponent Joselyne Edwards came in heavy ahead of their bantamweight bout.

The two are set to face off at UFC 277 in Dallas. Kim had originally been booked to face off with Mariya Agapova but the Ukrainian withdrew from the bout earlier this month citing a knee injury.

In her place stepped Edwards who was last seen competing as a featherweight at UFC 275 in Singapore. She weighed in at 137.5lbs and will forfeit 20% of her purse:

Late replacement

Edwards only accepted the fight at around three weeks notice. Having fought at 145lbs just last month it appears she was unable to get down to the bantamweight limit at such short notice.

For Kim this looks set to be a make or break fight. She has lost three fights in a row and normally the UFC is quick to cut fighters who embark on such long losing streaks.

But there are extenuating circumstances because Kim earned herself $50,000 USD performance of the night bonuses in the decision losses to both Priscila Cachoeira and Molly McCann.

Thailand trained

To prepare for this fight Kim has spent several months training at Bang Tao Muay Thai in Phuket. She was there ahead of UFC 277 and would have had the opportunity to spar with newly crowned strawweight champion Weili Zhang.

Kim has also been sharpening up her striking skills with the coaches there and working closely with George Hickman who has also spent time working with Kai Kara-France. The New Zealander will challenge Brandon Moreno for the interim flyweight title in the co-main event.

Having missed weight ahead of her fight with Nadia Kassem at UFC 243 and Antonina Shevchenko at the TUF 28 finale Kim cannot complain too much about Edwards coming in heavy. The Korean will be hoping to earn another performance bonus but more importantly she needs a win in Dallas this weekend.