Montreal’s Valerie Letourneau returns to action Aug. 23 against undefeated Ukrainian fighter Maryna Moroz. This crucial strawweight matchup opens up the main card of UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Oliveira in the promotion’s first trip to Saskatchewan. While Letourneau is happy to be fighting a Top 10 opponent, she admitted Moroz wasn’t someone on her radar.
“I didn’t even know who she was when they offered me that fight,” Letourneau told Sportsnet. “I don’t watch too many fights, I never watch TV. I get to know the who’s who when I have a fight or one of my friends is going to fight. Maryna fought [Joanne Calderwood] and at the time I didn’t see the fight. I didn’t even know who she was to be honest.”
Letourneau (7-3) made her MMA debut in 2007 and was considered for years to be a highly touted prospect on the Canadian regional circuit. In 2013 she tried out for season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter but was eliminated from the competition when she suffered a submission loss to Roxanne Modafferi in the entry round. Her luck would change when she was slotted as a replacement at UFC 174 for Germaine De Randamie against Elizabeth Phillips. She defeated Phillips by split decision and most recently earned a win over TUF 18 finalist Jessica Rakoczy at UFC 186 in April. Her opponent, Moroz, is coming off the biggest win of her career in an upset victory over Calderwood. Letourneau hopes a victory over Moroz will capitalize on her momentum.
“I’m very excited for this fight, I want her spot [at No. 8 in the rankings]…This is the spot I’m looking [to take]. Whatever [the UFC] would have offered me, I would have taken it. Especially in the Top 10, that’s what I asked for. I’m just glad they gave me this fight. She’s known for her submissions, but I know she has really good standup. So I’m ready for everything.”
Moroz (6-0) made her MMA debut in 2013 and has looked exceptional so far in her career earning all of her victories by stoppage. A relative unknown to hardcore North American MMA fans, Moroz certainly made her presence known by defeating fan favourite Calderwood in her last fight. With that said, Letourneau believes it was Calderwood who lost that fight for herself.
“[Moroz] did what she had to do to win. I felt like Calderwood was looking terrible even before the fight started,” Letourneau said. “I really don’t think she was at her best that night. It’s hard for me to judge Moroz [in that fight], but she did what she had to do to win that fight.”
Ahead of this matchup Letourneau is training like she usually does at American Top Team in Florida, a place she’s called home for her last two fights. The 32-year-old moved from Montreal to Florida after her short stint on TUF due to a lack of female training partners at the Tristar Gym where she previously trained. Being at ATT, Letourneau has the luxury of working with current UFC strawweights Nina Ansaroff and Alex Chambers. It’s because of this that Letourneau believes she’ll finish Moroz.
“I’m hoping for a quick ending. I aiming for an impressive win by knockout,” Letourneau said. “I feel like I have nothing to lose. I’m going there, I want her spot. I’m not even [ranked]. I just want to climb and get my spot. I have the opportunity now. This is exactly where I want to be. I believe that it’s going to get me closer to a title shot, that’s for sure.”
While the Quebecer isn’t looking past her opponent, a bout she is eyeing in the near future is a rematch with No. 1 ranked Claudia Gadelha. Letourneau lost a split decision to the Brazilian back in April 2012 at a Wreck MMA event, which was the last time she suffered a professional loss. Gadelha recently defeated ATT’s Jessica Aguiliar at UFC 190, which has only fuelled Letourneau’s motivation to get another matchup against the 26-year-old.
“She [just defeated] my teammate. I’d love to fight her again,” Letourneau explpained. “She did well. I can tell she’s improving fight after fight. She was looking much stronger then Jessica, that’s the main thing I saw in the fight. Jessica had no power on Claudia and they looked like they were in two different weight classes. [Our first fight] was a pretty close match. I felt like if I fought her in the Octagon I would win that fight.”