Undefeated Ukrainian prospect Maryna “The Iron Woman” Moroz looks for her second UFC victory when she steps back into the cage on August 23rd at UFC Fight Night 74: “Holloway vs Oliveira” in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Moroz is set to battle Valérie “Trouble” Létourneau on the card.
UFC officials announced the strawweight matchup on Wednesday. Moroz shocked fans in her Octagon debut when she submitted heavy favourite Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood at UFC Fight Night 64. Former bantamweight Létourneau made a successful 115-pound debut with a win at UFC 186.
Moroz (6-0-0) has thus far embraced the role of underdog throughout her MMA career. After upsetting two of China’s top female fighters, Feier Huang and Jin “The Fighting Rose” Tang, in Kunlun Fight bouts, Moroz signed with XFC and handed “Killer” Karine Silva her second loss. The UFC then signed Moroz and matched her up against Calderwood in April. Many expected that Moroz would be quickly defeated, but she scored her biggest upset win to date by submitting Calderwood in a mere 90 seconds.
Létourneau (7-3-0) was a contestant on TUF 18 in 2013, but she was eliminated during the qualifying round and did not return to active competition until May 2014. After scoring a quick TKO win against an overmatched Jordan Moore, Létourneau returned to the UFC on short notice and eked out a close Split Decision verdict over Elizabeth Phillips at UFC 174. She subsequently dropped 20 pounds to compete as a strawweight and dominated fellow Canadian Jessica “The Ragin'” Rakoczy at UFC 186 in April.
UFC Fight Night 74: “Holloway vs Oliveira” takes place on August 23rd at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The event is headlined by a featherweight matchup between Max “Blessed” Holloway and Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)
Moroz went from taking out a top 5 straw weight to Letourneau. Moroz vs. Katja might be a good fight. I heard Kankaanpaa wants to sign with UFC. She really has no one else to go. But UFC might not care much for her.
Letourneau has been very solid in both UFC appearances, especially in her 115 lb debut, I think should be a good match for Moroz. Plus it’s being fought in Valerie’s home country — and quite a long distance away from Ukraine. It’s hard to say just how good Moroz is — she’s kind of like Marion Reneau at 135 in that way. Moroz absolutely has huge upside potential and her physique — long and lean — is proving to be the best form for MMA success.
About Kankaanpaa — just wondering if there’s a reason that the UFC wouldn’t want to sign her? Did she leave Invicta or is her contract up? She did just lose the title in her last fight, but still she has a good record and seems to have a big personality.
Kankaanpaa is a grinder and UFC might be trying to avoid that. She is not Carla or Ben Askren going for double leg takedowns every second, but her style might not be pleasing. Even Invicta never really promoted her much. Probably wasn’t cheap to fly her in for them. It cost more for the plane tickets than Katja made for the fights.
She still is a top 10 SW. Although I don’t know for how much longer. She would fit nicely on a Scandinavian card though.