Women's MMA Report: VanZant returns at UFC 191, Moroz vs. Letourneau set for Saskatoon

Paige VanZant and Felice Herrig

Fast-rising strawweight star Paige VanZant steps back into the octagon for her next fight on Sept. 5 at UFC 191 in Las Vegas.

The popular and talented 21-year-old is set to battle “TUF 20” contestant Alex Chambers in a featured matchup on the card.

VanZant (5-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) became an overnight sensation in November when she won her UFC debut by stopping fellow prospect Kailin Curran in Round 3 of a thrilling bout. She subsequently made headlines by becoming one of a select group of fighters who received an individual Reebok sponsorship.

The Reebok deal upset some of VanZant’s peers who felt that she had been afforded the opportunity based more upon her looks than on her fighting skills and record. However, VanZant proved many of her critics wrong in her second UFC fight in April when she dominated veteran Felice Herrig en route to a commanding unanimous-decision win at UFC on FOX 15.

Chambers (5-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) got off to a rocky start in her UFC career. She was eliminated in the qualifying round on “TUF 20” and suffered a first-round submission loss to Aisling Daly in her official UFC debut at the TUF 20 Finale. In her most recent fight on May 10, Chambers was soundly beaten by Curran for two rounds, but she rallied late in the fight and forced the Hawaiian to submit to an armbar in the final round. The win spared Chambers from the UFC cut list, but she has another tough test ahead of her when she faces VanZant in September.

UFC books Maryna Moroz vs. Valerie Letourneau for Saskatoon debut

Fresh off of her shocking upset win over Joanne Calderwood, undefeated Ukrainian standout Maryna Moroz looks to make it two-for-two inside the octagon when she takes on former bantamweight Valerie Letourneau at UFC Fight Night 74. The strawweight showdown takes place on Aug. 23 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Moroz (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was pulled from a planned XFC International fight on short notice in order to face Calderwood in April and many expected that she would be quickly defeated in her UFC debut. Instead, Moroz shocked onlookers by submitting the heavily favored Calderwood with an armbar in just 90 seconds. Moroz has embraced the role of underdog throughout her MMA career and she now enters hostile territory for her second UFC bout next month.

Letourneau (7-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) spent the majority of her early career competing as a bantamweight in her home province of Quebec, where she engaged in wars with future UFC stars Sarah Kaufman and Alexis Davis. In 2013, Letourneau joined the cast of “TUF 18” in hopes of securing a spot on the UFC roster, but she was defeated in the elimination round. She fought her way back to the octagon and won her bantamweight debut on very short notice at UFC 174, but the time had come for Letourneau to make a big change in her career.

Following a 10-month hiatus, Letourneau dropped 20 pounds and made her strawweight debut against fellow ex-bantamweight Jessica Rakoczy at UFC 185. Letourneau put forth an excellent showing in her new weight class and walked away with a clear-cut unanimous-decision win. She now competes in Canada for the first time since April 2012 when she eked out a razor-thin split-decision win in a 130-pound catchweight bout with Claudia Gadelha.

Yukari Yamaguchi, Kanna Asakura win quickly at “VTJ in Osaka”

Japan’s top female prospect, 17-year-old Yukari Yamaguchi (1-0), won her long-awaited pro MMA debut in quick fashion on June 21 at “Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ in Osaka” in Osaka, Japan. Yamaguchi, the younger training partner of Deep Jewels champion and Invicta FC contender Mizuki Inoue, submitted Mikiko Hiyama (0-1) with a first-round rear-naked choke.

Much like Inoue, Yamaguchi has remained very active in combat sports outside of MMA. She has won numerous grappling tournaments, became the first 48kg Shoot Boxing Japan Girls S-Cup tournament winner this past August, and is currently in contention for a J-Girls kickboxing title. Her lone amateur MMA bout came at age 13 in late 2011 at “Jewels: 17th Ring.”

In her much-anticipated pro debut, Yamaguchi opened the action with a one-two and a quick takedown. Hiyama grabbed the cage on the way down, but Yamaguchi took her back and locked on a rear-naked choke. Hiyama had nowhere to go and tapped out at the 1:22 mark.

Earlier on the card, another 17-year-old prospect also earned a quick submission victory. Kanna Asakura (2-0), who won her pro debut for VTJ in October, finished Miyuki Furusawa (0-1) with a slick rear-naked choke. Furusawa was aggressive with strikes in the opening minute, but Asakura countered with a takedown and she used a kimura to set up a pass to mount. Furusawa gave up her back and Asakura sunk in a rear-naked choke for the tapout win at the 2:17 mark.

Both female fights on the VTJ card were put together by new matchmaking assistant Megumi Fujii, who hopes to develop a new generation of female talent by providing opportunities to talented young prospects who are just starting out in their pro careers.

Female fighters shine at “Badbeat 16” in California

Four women’s bouts highlighted an action-packed “BAMMA USA: Badbeat 16” card on June 26 in Commerce City, Calif. In what was unquestionably the “Fight of the Night,” Ashley Yoder (3-1) took a close split-decision victory over Liz Tracy (1-1) in a 118-pound catchweight bout.

The fighters battled back-and-forth on the mat throughout the entertaining battle. Yoder took Round 1 with rear-naked choke attempts and ground and pound in the final minute, but Tracy came on strong in Round 2 and nearly finished Yoder with an armbar and a rear-naked choke.

Tracy scored takedowns in the final round and appeared to be on her way to victory until Yoder transitioned from a kneebar to a rear-naked choke. Tracy narrowly escaped, but Yoder’s late-fight offense was enough to steal the round on two scorecards. Judge Gene Lebell strangely scored the bout 30-27 for Tracy, but the remaining two judges both saw it 29-28 for Yoder.

In one of two atomweight bouts on the card, Celine Haga (7-13) escaped from a number of early submission attempts and choked Alyssa Garcia (1-2) unconscious with an arm-triangle choke. The technical submission victory came at the 4:49 mark of Round 1.

Invicta FC veteran Kaiyana Rain (1-2) notched her first pro win by edging out Kyra Batara (2-3) in the second atomweight bout. Rain dropped Batara with a right hand in Round 1 and she controlled the striking exchanges on the feet in the second round. Batara rallied with takedowns, submission attempts and ground and pound in Round 3. The dominant third round was enough to earn Batara a 10-8 score from one judge for a 28-28 tally overall. The remaining two judges scored the fight 29-28 for Rain, who took the majority-decision win.

The lone blemish on the female portion of the “Badbeat 16” card came in the form of a lackluster flyweight bout between Christina Marks (6-8) and Jessica Pryor (1-1). Round 1 was predominantly contested in the clinch and both women landed knees to the body. Pryor scored a key takedown early in Round 2 and she landed more big knees as Marks regained her footing. Marks threw extremely sloppy punches that badly missed their mark, and Pryor appeared to be up on the scorecards. Little transpired in the final round and Marks continued to miss with wild punches that came up well short. While ineffective, Marks’ forward pressure convinced two judges and she took a contentious split-decision win with scores of 28-29 and 29-28 twice.

Quick results

Featherweight – Anastasia Kravets (3-1) def. Elena Bondarenko (2-5) via submission (armbar) at the 3:47 mark of Round 1 at Wolf Fighting Club 7 on June 13 in Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine.

Flyweight – Also on the Wolf Fighting Club 7 card, Victoria Odumchuk (1-1) def. Olga Bolgar (0-2) via unanimous decision.

Flyweight – Donatella Panu (1-1) def. Patrizia Gibelli (0-1) via TKO (punches) at the 1:05 mark of Round 1 at Milano in the Cage 5 on June 13 in Monza, Italy.

Flyweight – Jennifer Maia (10-4-1) def. Stephanie Bragayrac (5-3) via KO (knee) at the 2:07 mark of Round 2 at “Imortal FC 1: The Invasion” on June 13 in Sao Jose dos Pinhais, Parana, Brazil.

Flyweight – Also on the Imortal FC 1 card, Isabelly Varela (6-0) def. Priscila Ferreira (3-1-1) via submission (armbar) at the 3:41 mark of Round 1.

Flyweight – Montana Stewart (2-2) def. Roxanne Ceasear (0-1) via submission (armbar) at the 1:55 mark of Round 2 at Premier Fight Series 4 on June 13 in Midland, Texas.

Bantamweight – Zaira Dyshekova (2-1) def. Mariam Khalilova (1-2) via TKO (knees to the body) at the 4:55 mark of Round 1 at Absolute Championship Berkut 20 on June 14 in Sochi, Russia.

Catchweight (132) – Cristina Stanciu (3-0) def. Diana Belbita (4-1) via submission (armbar) at the 2:41 mark of Round 1 at Romanian Xtreme Fighting 18 on June 15 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Featherweight – Jessica Miele (4-1) def. Janice Meyer (0-2) via TKO (punches) at the 1:51 mark of Round 1 at “Reality Fighting: Mohegan Sun” on June 19 in Uncasville, Conn.

Flyweight – Coralie Dixon (1-0) def. Chaleur Jones (1-2) via unanimous decision at Havoc Fighting Championship 9 on June 19 in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.

Bantamweight – Tanja Hoffmann (3-4) def. Cinja Kiefer (0-3) via submission (armbar) in Round 1 at Mirko’s Fight Night on June 20 in Schutterwald, Germany.

Strawweight – Aline Sattelmayer (10-7) def. Arielle Souza (4-4) via split decision at “Thunder Fight 4: Macaco vs. Celsinho” on June 20 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Flyweight – Josy Silva (3-0) def. Erika Alcantara (0-2) via unanimous decision at Pedreiras Fighter 4 on June 20 in Pedreiras, Maranhao, Brazil.

Bantamweight – Mayana Kellen (3-0) def. Juh Moura (0-1) via split decision at Rei da Selva Combat 5 on June 20 in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.

Strawweight – Carolina Karasek (5-1) def. Anne Karoline Nascimento (4-5) via submission (armbar) in Round 3 at Striker’s House Cup 50 on June 20 in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil.

Flyweight – Also on the Striker’s House Cup 50 card, Ariane Lipski (3-3) def. Geisyele Nascimento (0-5) at the 35-second mark of Round 1.

Strawweight – Kyna Sisson (1-0) def. Rachael Smith (0-3) via TKO (punches) at the 1:10 mark of Round 2 at “Total Warrior Combat 27: Townsend vs. Taveirne” on June 20 in Lansing, Mich.

Bantamweight – Also on the TWC 27 card, Carolyn Biskup (1-1) def. Nikki Duncan (0-3) via submission (guillotine choke) at the 1:32 mark of Round 2.

Flyweight – Mandy Polk (1-2) def. Briannah Conatser (0-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 1:12 mark of Round 1 at “V3 Fights: Davis vs. Hall” on June 20 in Memphis.

Flyweight – Alice Smith Yauger (2-3) def. Colby Fletcher (1-2) via TKO (punches) at the 1:53 mark of Round 1 at “XFL: Rage on the River 7” on June 20 in Pocola, Okla.

Featherweight – Bryanna Fissori (2-0) def. Iony Razafiarison (2-1) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at Bellator 139 on June 26 in Mulvane, Kan.

Strawweight – Ffion Davies (1-0) def. Fruzsina Nagy (2-6) via TKO (punches) at the 1:14 mark of Round 1 at “Macto Championships: Osipczak vs. Redfearn” on June 27 in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England.

Flyweight – Katy Collins (2-1) def. Katherine Farrow (0-2) via TKO (punches) at the 1:38 mark of Round 1 at Capital City Punishment on June 27 in Bismarck, N.D.

Strawweight – Glena Avila (5-3) def. Cheryl Chan (1-4) via unanimous decision at “King of the Cage: Undeniable” on June 27 in Lincoln City, Ore.

Strawweight – Lisa Jeanson (2-2) def. September Thornton (0-2) via KO (spinning backfist) at the 18-second mark of Round 1 at “Gladiator Challenge: Kaboom 2” on June 27 in Lincoln, Calif.

MMAjunkie.com publishes the Women’s MMA Report every few weeks. Its author, Robert Sargent, is a veteran MMA journalist who also runs MMARising.com. Feel free to email us at news [AT] mmajunkie.com with any questions, news tips or suggestions.