According to a report from earlier today, women’s MMA veteran Lisa Ward will no longer face Tammie Schneider at Bellator 22 on June 17th. Instead, the submission ace will battle Stephanie “Macaquinha” Frausto, the younger sister of Strikeforce veteran Zoila Frausto.

The bout, which was first reported on by MySportsGeeks.com, will serve as the Bellator debuts for both competitors, but Ward will enter the fight with a tremendous experience advantage. Frausto has fought three times for The Warriors Cage in California and is coming off of a first-round win in May.

Ward (12-5-0) has faced a who’s who of the lighter weight classes in the women’s division and holds big victories over long-time DEEP champ Miku “Supernova” Matsumoto, Jessica Aguilar and Ayumi “Edge” Saito. The Washington native has competed as a pro for well over five years and has also challenged the top female fighter in the sport, Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii. However, ring rust may play a factor, as Ward has not fought since a June 2009 rematch with Matsumoto in Japan. Eight of Ward’s wins have come by submission.

Frausto (2-1-0) will enter the fight as a massive underdog due to her limited experience and the short-notice nature of the bout, but she has already begun training for what will clearly be the biggest fight of her career. Both of Frausto’s victories to date have come by stoppage due to strikes, but she suffered her lone loss by submission in a March bout with Trisha Piñon. Frausto will need to keep the fight standing in order to avoid the vast array of submissions that Ward possesses in her arsenal.

Bellator 22 takes place on June 17th at the Kansas City Power and Light District in Kansas City, Missouri. The event also features the final bout in this year’s Bellator Welterweight Tournament.

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(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)