Valerie Loureda set to return at Bellator 243 for first fight in 14 months

Valerie Loureda has her first fight in more than a year booked.

The flyweight prospect is scheduled to take on Tara Graff on the preliminary card of Bellator 243 on Aug. 7 in Uncasville, Conn. The bout was announced by the promotion Wednesday.

Loureda (2-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) last fought at Bellator 222 in July 2019. She defeated Larkyn Dasch via unanimous decision. The 22-year-old Loureda, who trains out of American Top Team in Miami, had been booked to fight in January at Bellator 238 but withdrew because of an injury.

On the other hand, Graff (1-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) looks to make a successful Bellator debut. The 34-year-old fighter hasn’t competed since November 2018.

Bellator 243 marks the second event back for Bellator since halting operations due to the on-going coronavirus pandemic. The card will be headlined by a lightweight rematch between Michael Chandler and Benson Henderson.

With the addition, the Bellator 243 lineup includes:

• Michael Chandler vs. Benson Henderson
• Timothy Johnson vs. Matt Mitrione
• Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Myles Jury
• Sabah Homasi vs. Curtis Millender
• Adam Borics vs. Derek Campos
• AJ Agazarm vs. Cris Lencioni
• Joel Bauman vs. Taylor Johnson
• Christian Edwards vs. Ahmed Samir
• Dalton Rosta vs. Mark Gardner
• Nainoa Dung vs. Charlie Campbell
• Grant Neal vs. Hamza Salim
• Valerie Loureda vs. Tara Graff