Serbian prospect Sanja Sučević will make a quick return to action when she competes at Super Fight League 2 on April 7 in Chandigarh, India. Sučević is expected to face unbeaten American Bethany Marshall on the card. The targeted matchup was revealed on the promotion’s official website today.
Sučević picked up the biggest victory of her MMA career at Super Fight League 1 earlier this month when she submitted the previously undefeated Lena “Hunter” Ovchynnikova in the second round. Marshall has not fought since a March 2011 victory at M-1 Challenge 24 in her native Virginia.
Sučević (3-1-0), who took the March 11th bout with Ovchynnikova on very short notice, was seen as an underdog leading into the fight, but she put on an impressive performance in handing the Ukrainian her first defeat. Ovchynnikova threatened with her go-to submission, the armbar, in round one, but Sučević escaped and attempted a series of submissions of her own. In round two, Sučević countered an armbar and took Ovchynnikova’s back, then secured a rear-naked choke for the victory. The win earned Sučević a spot on the sophomore SFL card and she now looks to upset another undefeated opponent.
Marshall (4-0-0) has spent much of her career at or near 135 pounds and she will likely hold a size and strength advantage over Sučević in two weeks. Of Marshall’s four victories, three have come via a form of submission. In early 2010, she needed just 20 seconds to choke out the previously unbeaten Christina “Machine Gun” Domke. Most recently, she used a toe hold to submit fellow Virginian Stacy Grant on the M-1 Challenge card. Marshall has not fought since the bout with Grant, however, and the lengthy layoff could play a factor when she travels to India for her Super Fight League debut.
Super Fight League 2 takes place on April 7th at the T-Box Mobile Arena in Chandigarh, India. The planned bout between Sučević and Marshall is currently scheduled to serve as the co-main event.