Undisputed welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill will return to the ring to defend her titles on Dec. 4 against Victoria Bustos as part of the Devin Haney-Joseph Diaz undercard in Las Vegas.
It’s the first fight in a long-term deal for McCaskill with Matchroom and the first fight she’ll have against someone other than Cecilia Braekhus in over two years.
The 37-year-old McCaskill (10-2, 3 KO), ESPN’s No. 4 pound-for-pound female fighter, had beaten Braekhus for the welterweight titles in 2020 and then won the rematch in March. The last non-Braekhus fighter she faced was Erica Farias, whom she beat by majority decision in 2019.
Bustos (22-6), who once held the IBF lightweight and light welterweight titles, last fought in October when she won a majority decision over Yamila Esther Reynoso. Braekhus beat Bustos in November 2019, her last win before losing to McCaskill. Bustos has also fought — and lost to — Katie Taylor and Farias in her career in title shots.
McCaskill lost to Taylor in 2017.
“We have a tough test in front of us in Victoria,” McCaskill said in a news release. “She’s a great fighter and she’s been in with everyone, but I am confident I will keep my belts and we’ll move on to more great fights in 2022.”