The first ever UFC women’s flyweight bout is set to take place on June 18 at UFC Fight Night 89 in Ottawa, Canada, between Joanne Calderwood and Valerie Letourneau.
The Las Vegas-based fight promotion made the announcement on Thursday, but pointed out that the “special flyweight attraction” isn’t the launch of a new women’s division within the organization. A women’s 125-pound division could materialize in the future, and the UFC is open to the possibility.
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“UFC officials are looking into possibly opening a women’s flyweight division in the future, but until the time when or if such a division is permanently announced, there remain two women’s divisions (bantamweight and strawweight) and there will be no rankings set up for a 125-pound women’s class,” read the UFC’s announcement.
Calderwood (9-1) rebounded from her first career loss to Maryna Moroz at UFC Fight Night 64 with a win and Fight of the Night performance at UFC Fight Night 72. The Scottish striker hopes to usher in the women’s 125-pound weight class with a historic win.
Letourneau (8-4) is looking to bounce back from her loss to strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in her last outing. She holds a win over Moroz, who handed Calderwood her first career defeat.
UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Thompson takes place on June 18 at the TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The event is headlined by a welterweight match between contenders Rory MacDonald and Stephen Thompson.
