TUF 18 semi-finalist Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras is set to make her official UFC debut on July 6th at The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale in Las Vegas, Nevada. Moras faces off against unbeaten Octagon newcomer Alexis “Sneaky Zebra” Dufresne in a featured bantamweight bout on the card.
UFC officials confirmed the matchup today following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. Both Moras and Dufresne make their returns to action after recently recovering from injuries. Moras put on a strong showing during TUF 18 and Dufresne most recently demolished Kim Couture in February.
Moras (3-1-0) kicked off her pro career with a win in May 2010, but it was her dominant victory over TUF 18 winner Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña two years later that established her as a contender in the women’s bantamweight division. Moras’s lone bout for Invicta FC ended in a disappointing decision defeat, but she rebounded with a quick win in September 2012. When the UFC formed a women’s division this past year, Moras signed on to compete on The Ultimate Fighter 18 and she advanced to the semi-final round before losing to Peña in a rematch.
Dufresne (5-0-0) has thus far steamrolled her opponents and none of her five fights have made it outside of the first round. Four of those five fights have ended inside the first two minutes. In her most recent fight, Dufresne easily dispatched of an outsized and overmatched Couture in 45 seconds on February 28th. She was set to make her UFC debut against Amanda “Lioness” Nunes at UFC on FOX 11 in April, but a rib injury forced Dufresne out of the fight. Now fully recovered, she enters the Octagon for the first time and faces a tough test in July.
The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale takes place on July 6th at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is headlined by a third meeting between former UFC champions Frankie “The Answer” Edgar and “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn.
(Photo Credit: UFC)
Alexis Dusfrene will have her first challenge… so far, she has only fought people with only losses or way more losses than wins… let’s wait and see.
Rafael – I hear that Alexis Dusfresne is a very big bantamweight and has trouble making 135. Apparently she was way overweight for her last fight against Kim Couture. If you look at the video of the fight, Alexis dwarfs Kim and the result of the fight was predictable from the size difference alone. I’m just wondering if Alexis will be able to make weight without running into serious health problems. If she makes the weight, it should be a very interesting fight.
Moras is a big step up for Dusfrene, whatsoever… if you check the record of people she’s faced so far, they are not too impressive:
4-7
0-1
0-1
0-3
3-8
5 wins to 20 losses… Moras got a good ground game, and won’t be as easily defeated as, say, Kim Couture, even with Dusfrene size advantage.
Ops. 7 wins to 20 losses.
Very true – all losing records and Moras is no joke. Dusfresne’s true ability and potential is a huge unknown – Moras will put her to the test no doubt.