Newly-married fighter returns after three years to face TUF 30 winner at UFC 286

Veronica Macedo is set to mark her UFC return in March when she faces The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 30 winner Juliana Miller.

The 27-year-old last stepped into the octagon in March 2020 where she lost to Bea Malecki via unanimous decision in a bantamweight bout. A run of 1-4 since making her debut in 2016 prompted Macedo to announce her retirement and take some time away from MMA to reflect and refocus.

During her time away from the octagon, the Venezuelan-born fighter struck up a relationship with former fighter-turned-analyst Dan Hardy and the pair were married on Christmas Day in 2022.

"Veronica Macedo will fight Juliana Miller at #UFC286 on March 18th. (first rep. Miller on @XariaBloom's Outside the Box Podcast)."

Despite her mixed record in the UFC, Veronica Macedo has shown the potential to be better than her professional record suggests (6-4). In her five appearances in the organization, she earned a Performance and Fight of the Night bonus as well as a willingness to compete in both the women's flyweight and bantamweight divisions.

Her opponent, Juliana Miller, will certainly be a tough test after three years out of the octagon. 'Killer' is riding high after her TUF 30 victory as well as winning her official debut via TKO in the third-round at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Hill.

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Dana White confirms he's staying as UFC president

With the UFC set to return this weekend and kick off another successful year of MMA, Dana White recently faced the media for the first time following an incident where he slapped his wife.

Last week, TMZ released a video of White celebrating New Year's Eve with his wife Anne and friends. The clip shows the 53-year-old drinking and arguing with his wife before she slaps him across the face. White responded by immediately slapping her back.

The American has since apologized for the incident and claimed there is no excuse for his behavior. Despite the apology, many have been calling for White to resign.

Whilst facing the press, Dana White stated that he's planning on remaining in his current role because he believes his removal would be detrimental to everybody involved in the organization. The president said:

"What should the repercussions be? I take 30 days off? How does that hurt me? I told you guys, as we were going through [COVID-19 pandemic], COVID could last 10 years, and I could sit it out. It's much like COVID, actually. Me leaving hurts the company. Hurts my employees. Hurts the fighters. Doesn't hurt me."

Catch the clip here: