Former UFC title challenger Valerie Letourneau will move to a new chapter in her career in mixed martial arts on July 14 with the Bellator 181 organization. This duel will be held at WinStar World Casino in Oklahoma, USA.
The Canadian confirmed Monday, in interview with Ariel Helwani on the show the MMA hour. The 33-year-old fighter, released by the UFC in last February after cashing in a third lap in a row, will then be opposed to the American fighter, Emily Ducote.
“The idea of joining Bellator had been in my mind for a while already, even before my last fight.” Letourneau told in MMA show. “I saw that was struggling each time to make the weight at 115 lbs and that there were five fights to my contract. It was no longer possible, it was dangerous. I would have liked the class of the 125 lbs to be inaugurated in the UFC, but it did not seem to happen.
“My weight had changed so much since my debut ar 115 lbs that I could not agree to return to 135 lbs. It also caused me a lot of health problems, I did low pressure. I was losing concentration, seeing and hearing badly times. You start think that your heart is going to let go. At this moment I suggested to them to release me of my contract. ” she added.
The Canadian signed with Bellator las month to join the promotion’s flyweight division. The American Top Team product as last seen in action at UFC 206 where she defeated spilt decision to the Brazilian fighter, Viviane Pereira. Lotourne, who 8-6 as a professional fighter, competed for the UKFC six times and even challenged strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the title back in 2015.
Emily Ducote (left) set to against the Canadian fighter Valerie Letourneau with the Bellator organization on July 14. (Source:www.sherdog.com)
On the other side, Emily Ducote is coming off a submission win over MMA fighter Katy Collins back at Bellator 174 in March. Ducote is 5-2 in her MMA career and 3-1 under the Bellator banner.
This fight will be a home fight for Ducote, who is come from Oklahoma. Ducote has wins in five of her past six fights, including three of her first four in Bellator organization. All three of those wins are by submission.
