Elizabeth Phillips Steps In To Face Valérie Létourneau At UFC 174Yet another late change has been made to the women’s bantamweight bout at UFC 174: “Johnson vs Bagautinov” on June 14th in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. With Milana Dudieva out, newcomer Elizabeth Phillips has now stepped in to face Valérie “Trouble” Létourneau on the card.

UFC officials announced the latest change on Friday. The card was initially scheduled to feature a bout between Dudieva and Germaine “The Iron Lady” de Randamie, but de Randamie was forced to withdraw with an injury this week. A reason for Dudieva’s removal from the event was not announced.

Phillips (4-1-0) has put together a solid four-fight winning streak since dropping her pro MMA debut to multi-time Muay Thai world champion “The Queen of Mean” Miriam Nakamoto in September 2012. Fighting exclusively for Conquest of the Cage, Phillips finished three straight opponents in her home state of Washington and she most recently picked up one of her biggest wins to date one week ago. On May 30th, Phillips outpointed Katie Howard en route to a Unanimous Decision victory and her performance in the bout was enough to earn her a short-notice opportunity with the UFC.

Létourneau (5-3-0) has already stepped into the world-famous UFC Octagon as a part of the TUF 18 elimination round this past year. The French Canadian was unable to qualify for the show and suffered a submission loss to Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi. She rebounded with a quick TKO victory over pro debutant Jordan Moore in her most recent fight on May 16th. Létourneau has engaged in competitive bouts with top UFC contenders Sarah Kaufman and Alexis “Ally-Gator” Davis in the past, and she now looks to kick off her official UFC career with a key victory.

UFC 174: “Johnson vs Bagautinov” takes place on June 14th at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The event is headlined by a UFC Flyweight Championship bout between Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and Ali “Puncher” Bagautinov.