No. 12-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight Casey O’Neill returns to action this weekend (Sat., March 28, 2026) against Brazil’s Gabriella Fernandes at UFC Seattle inside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.
It’s been a long time coming.
O’Neill hasn’t competed since UFC 305 in Australia, where she handed surging prospect Luana Santos her first UFC loss via unanimous decision.
And then, poof! “King” Casey vanished.
So, what happened?
The answer is simple — injuries.
O’Neill has
been dealing with injuries for the past few years, and another knee injury forced her to sit out all of 2025. It’s been a frustrating stretch for a fighter who once looked like one of the brightest rising prospects in the division.
But the time away wasn’t wasted.
The 28-year-old returned to Thailand — where she began her UFC journey — to reconnect with her roots and rebuild her game with her original team.
“I’ve always had a great time in Thailand, and that’s where I started my UFC journey,” O’Neill told UFC.com. “It was nice to go back, get back to my roots, and work with my original team again. Great vibes, great weather, great training.”
More importantly, the layoff helped her reset mentally.
“I had to stop trying to force everything to be perfect,” O’Neill said. “It helped me mature in the sport. When things go wrong, you need to take a step back and look at it. Being more patient with my career and stuff like that. I know what I’m capable of, and I’m just trying to get myself in the best health that I can to be able to prove it.”
Before her last win, O’Neill had hit the first rough patch of her career, dropping back-to-back fights for the first time in her career.
Now, after nearly two years away, she understands what’s at stake.
“MMA is a very fast-moving sport,” O’Neill concluded. “People might look at the card and not even know who I am. So it’s exciting to be back in that position where you can steal the spotlight and remind people.”
After 19 months on the sidelines, O’Neill finally gets that chance.
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