Following a pair of close decision defeats, Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey seeks her first Octagon victory on July 13th at UFC Fight Night 91 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Casey is set to battle once-beaten Romanian prospect Cristina “Barbie” Stanciu in strawweight action on the preliminary card.

UFC officials announced the fight this past weekend. Casey came up just short in competitive UFC bouts against Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood and Seo Hee Ham this past year. Stanciu put on a strong showing in her April UFC debut, but dropped a narrow decision to Maryna “The Iron Woman” Moroz.

Casey (4-3-0) earned a spot on the UFC roster this past July after racking up three straight victories for Pacific Xtreme Combat. Her UFC debut nearly ended in a quick knockout victory against Calderwood, but the Scottish standout rallied as the fight progressed and edged out Casey via Unanimous Decision. In November, Casey returned to action against former Deep Jewels champion Ham, but she once again came out on the losing end of an entertaining three-round decision. Now facing a potential must-win situation, Casey looks to hand Stanciu her second straight defeat.

Stanciu (5-1-0) built up a name for herself in her home country by racking up five straight victories to open her pro career. All but one of Stanciu’s wins ended inside the distance, which caught the eye of UFC matchmakers. She signed with the UFC earlier this year and engaged in an action-packed bout with Moroz at UFC Fight Night 86, but Moroz did just enough to eke out a razor-thin decision victory. Undeterred by the setback, Stanciu now makes her North American debut next month in hopes of scoring her biggest victory to date.

UFC Fight Night 91 is set for July 13th at Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

(Photo Credit: UFC)