The Pressure Is on Jessamyn Duke in Her UFC Return After Yearlong Absence

The horsewoman rides again.

Jessamyn Duke, frankly known more for her time on The Ultimate Fighter and her place in Ronda Rousey's "Four Horsewomen" contingent than for her performances to date in the UFC cage, is returning to the Octagon after a year away. The bantamweight will face Elizabeth Phillips at UFC on Fox 16 on July 25.

The UFC announced Duke's return on Thursday, with the news being subsequently reported by Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting.

The rangy muay thai fighter is 3-2-1 as a pro and 1-2 in the UFC. She bested Peggy Morgan in The Ultimate Fighter 18 but has not won since. 

Most recently, in July 2014 Duke lost by first-round TKO to Leslie Smith. However, it's the performance before that that may ultimately be more memorable.

At UFC 172 in April 2014, Duke dropped a unanimous decision following a contest in which neither Duke nor her opponent looked particularly good. The biggest moment came after the fight was over, when Duke's opponent looked into the camera, held up four fingers in Four Horsewomen sign and peeled one down to signal that she had completed the first leg of a larger journey.

That opponent was Bethe Correia, who went on to defeat another Horsewoman in Shayna Baszler and did a good enough job of antagonizing her way into a title fight with Rousey this August at UFC 190 in Brazil.

In the meantime, Duke will surely be looking to regain the form she had earlier in her career. As a fighter in the Invicta promotion, Duke won her first two contest, the first by TKO and the second by submission. She never came close to recreating that success in the UFC. 

Luckily for Duke, she is still only 28, but the pressure may be on for her to win in July. Otherwise, the consequences may be severe. Duke has lost two straight, and three consecutive losses is often (if not always) a tipping point for release from the UFC. 

The relatively unknown Phillips (4-3) has also lost two straight in the UFC, potentially setting up a "loser-leaves-town" matchup at UFC on Fox 16. 

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