Jessamyn Duke Meets Leslie Smith at UFC Fight Night 45

Jessamyn Duke Meets Leslie Smith at UFC Fight Night 45

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

A women's bantamweight match up between two women hoping to return to the win column has been added to UFC fight Night 45.

UFC officials have today confirmed Jessamyn Duke (3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and Leslie Smith (6-5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will square off on the preliminary card at next month's UFC Fight Night 45 which takes place July 16 at Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. UFC Fight Night 45 is headlined by Donald Cerrone vs. Jim Miller.

A quarter-finalist on season 18 of the Ultimate Fighter, Duke earned her place on the UFC roster with a decision victory over Peggy Morgan at November's Season 18 finale. The 27 year-old returned in April dropping a decision to Bethe Correia, to make the first lost the in the Kentucky natives career.

Fighting for the second time since joining the UFC in April to take on former Strikeforce champ Sarah Kaufman as late replacement, Invicta FC vet Leslie Smith fight in the UFC for the first time on the back of a full training camp. A native of California, the 31-year-old won four “Fight of the Night” bonuses in six Invicta FC fights, picking up notable wins over Raquel Pennington, Jennifer Maia, and Katlin Young.

With the addition of Duke vs Smith, UFC Fight Night 45 now includes:

Donald Cerrone vs. Jim Miller
John Lineker vs. Alptekin Ozkilic
John Howard vs. Rick Story
Pat Healy vs. Gleison Tibau
Edson Barboza vs. Evan Dunham
Jim Alers vs. Lucas Martins
Aljamain Sterling vs. Hugo Viana
Joe Proctor vs. Justin Salas
Jessamyn Duke vs. Leslie Smith

Stay tuned to kingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest on UFC Fight Night 45.

Leslie Smith Drops to 125, Meets Jennifer Maia in Invicta FC 6 Title Eliminator

 Leslie Smith vs Jennifer Maia Set for Invicta FC6 Title Eliminator

On the heels of her second-career Invicta Fighting Championships “Fight of the Night” performance, crowd-pleasing, prolific striker Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith (5-3-1) of Pleasanton, Calif. has signed a new, multi-fight agreement with the women’s world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion and will drop from bantamweight (135 pounds) to flyweight (125 pounds) and challenge Jennifer Maia (7-2) of Curitiba, Brazil. at Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City on Saturday, July 13.

The winner of the Invicta FC 6 matchup between Smith and Maia will be awarded a title shot against newly crowned Invicta FC World Flyweight Champion Barb Honchak (8-2) of Bettendorf, Iowa.

“We are excited to bring Leslie under the Invicta Fighting Championships umbrella for the long-term and to watch her compete in a new weight class that is becoming super competitive in our promotion,” said Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp.  “Since we launched our live event series last year, Leslie has demonstrated incredible tenacity and athleticism by putting on some of the most memorable fights in our cage.  She is a true warrior as is her opponent Jennifer Maia, so we are looking forward to an explosive matchup between two of the sport’s stars on what will be Invicta FC’s biggest fight card to date.”

The 30-year-old Smith engaged in an all-out war with former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman at Invicta FC 5 at Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City on April 5.  Following the conclusion of the three-round contest that many believe Smith won, however, Kaufman was awarded a controversial, split decision, prompting widespread boos from the displeased, capacity crowd.

Smith also won “Fight of the Night” honors at the inaugural Invicta FC event on April 28, 2012, after slugging it out relentlessly with fellow striker Kaitlin Young for the duration of their three-round bantamweight bout.  The fight was declared a majority draw, setting up a much-anticipated rematch at Invicta FC 3 on Oct. 6 that saw Smith take charge and finish Young with an onslaught of punches from mount position in the second round (2:19) of the matchup.

Maia, a 24-year-old submission specialist, notched her first victory in the Invicta FC cage with a stunning upset, unanimous decision win over superstar Zoila Frausto Gurgel on April 5.  Recognized as one of Brazil’s quickest rising stars, Maia made quick work of each of her first four professional career opponents, scoring a first round TKO (punches) in her pro debut on Suelen Pinheiro Ribeiro in 2009, and submitting each of her next three opponents inside the first round.