After Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith stepped in on less than two weeks’ notice and met former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman in April, most observers agreed Smith deserved a second chance in the UFC after putting in a game performance in defeat.
Next month, she’ll get that chance.
Smith (6-5-1) will meet Jessamyn Duke in a bantamweight fight at the July 16 UFC Fight Night card in Atlantic City, N.J. The Glendale News-Press initially reported the fight on Tuesday.
Duke (3-1-1), of “Four Horsewomen” fame along with champion Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler, and Marina Shafir, will look to shake off her first career loss, a unanimous decision at the hands of Bethe Correira at UFC 172.
Smith, a Cesar Gracie fighter from Northern California, has dropped three of her past four fights, but they’ve all been against quality foes: A pair of losses to Kaufman and a decision against Barb Honchak in an Invicta flyweight title fight last year.