Jessamyn Duke vs Elizabeth Phillips Added To UFC On FOX 16More than one year after she last competed inside the UFC Octagon, TUF 18 contestant Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke returns to action on July 25th at UFC on FOX 16: “Dillashaw vs Barao 2” in Chicago, Illinois. Duke meets Elizabeth Phillips in what is quite clearly a must-win fight for both.

UFC officials announced the bantamweight clash earlier today. Duke’s 2014 campaign did not go as she had hoped, and she dropped back-to-back fights against Bethe “Pitbull” Correia and Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith. Phillips also faces the UFC cut list after dropping a pair of close decisions.

Duke (3-2-0, 1 NC) was seen by some as a dark horse who could potentially advance far in the gruelling TUF 18 tournament, but her run on the show ended in the quarterfinal round when she was defeated by Raquel “Rocky” Pennington. She bounced back with a decision win in her official UFC debut at the TUF 18 Finale, but 2014 was not kind to Duke. She first suffered a Unanimous Decision loss to Correia at UFC 172 in April, and was then quickly stopped by Smith at UFC Fight Night 45 three months later.

Phillips (4-3-0) brought a four-fight winning streak into her short-notice Octagon debut in June and put on a solid showing against Valérie “Trouble” Létourneau, but Létourneau prevailed via Split Decision after three close rounds. Two months later, Phillips stepped back into the Octagon to face Russian prospect Milana Dudieva at UFC Fight Night 48. Despite controlling the fight from top position, Phillips was handed a Split Decision loss by the judges and went on a verbal tirade following the contentious defeat.

With both Duke and Phillips in desperate need of a victory, the July matchup between the two struggling fighters will almost certainly serve as a “Loser Leaves Town” bout.

UFC on FOX 16: “Dillashaw vs Barao 2” takes place on July 25th at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The event is headlined by a twice-delayed UFC Bantamweight Championship rematch between T.J. Dillashaw and Renan “Barao” Pegado, and also features a women’s bantamweight title eliminator bout between Miesha “Cupcake” Tate and Jessica “Evil” Eye.

 

 

(Photo Credit: UFC)

  1. Elizabeth for the win. Ever since Edmons transformed Duke into a boxer, she has not been the same.