Valerie Letourneau: Canada's Next Shot at a UFC Champion

Canada has always been a hotbed for MMA. The country is packed to the edges with diehard fans whose ravenous appetite for fighting has prompted a whopping 19 visits by the UFC. It has also spawned some of the sport's most beloved fighters, from Patrick Côté, to Carlos Newton, to Sam Stout. Yet perhaps nothing is more synonymous with Canada's MMA legacy than the name Georges St-Pierre.

St-Pierre, in case you're suffering from amnesia, is the greatest welterweight our sport has ever known, and one of the best fighters ever—period. And for the duration of his spectacular career he was the de facto poster boy for Canadian MMA. Yet as his historic run ebbed on, even before he made his noncommittal retirement announcement, one had to wonder who might pick up the torch when he hung up the gloves; which rising fighter might take up the charge as Canada's next UFC champion.

For a time, that fighter seemed to be BC's Rory MacDonald, who St-Pierre himself once touted as the next big thing. Yet while MacDonald remains one of the best welterweights on the face of the earth, he's now lost twice to the reigning champion. So, good as he may be, his championship goals have hit a bit of a speed bump.

Alexis Davis, a native of Ontario, also had a chance to grab gold against Ronda Rousey in 2014. Unfortunately for her, that chance passed in a mere 16 seconds as she became the latest victim in Rousey's historic run, failing to bring glory to Canada in the process.

TJ Grant, who hails from Nova Scotia, also looked like he could be the man to assume the mantle in GSP's stead, as he was twice scheduled for a lightweight title shot. Yet the same concussion that ejected him from those title bouts has kept him out of action for over two years, and so he also comes up short in the hunt for Canada's next UFC champ.

So, while fighters like John Makdessi, Elias Theodorou and Sarah Kaufman are currently on the outskirts of contendership in their respective divisions, the search for Canada's next MMA monarch really comes down to one person: Valérie "Trouble" Létourneau. The Quebecer is scheduled to take on Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the UFC strawweight title at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia, this Saturday.

A bit about Létourneau. The current 8th-ranked UFC strawweight, she boasts a record of 8-3. And while, at a glance, those numbers are nothing to write home about, two of her losses came against larger competition in top-level bantamweights Alexis Davis and Sarah Kaufman. The third was a split decision defeat to Claudia Gadelha, who currently stands out as the second best strawweight on earth behind Jedrzejczyk.

Currently, Létourneau trains out of American Top Team in Florida. There, she benefits not just from the tutelage of expert coaches like Mike Brown and Ricardo Liborio, but also from a proximity to many other top fighters, namely Hector Lombard, who has apparently played a large role in her preparations of UFC 193.

Over the course of her career, Letourneau has developed a fairly versatile toolkit. Best known for her striking, she's flaunted some strong technique and solid power, most notably in her August wobbling of Maryna Moroz. She's also a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu purple belt which, logic dictates, could prove useful in her scrap with a striker of Jedrzejczyk's calibre.

Yes, despite her obscurity among the sport's more casual fans, and the relative sparseness of her Wikipedia page, Létourneau is a solid fighter, and is very much deserving of our respect.

But let's address the elephant in the room.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk is a different animal. She's a champion of such ferocity that some wonder if Australia's more squeamish residents will be able to stomach her style. As a decorated Muay Thai champion, she's the owner of the division's best striking by a mile—a skillset that is complimented by ever-improving takedown defense. She's an undefeated fighter that, barring a tight contest with Gadelha, has made all of her other recent opponents look amateur. Yes, Jedrzejczyk is expected to win this contest handily, and the betting odds say as much. The champion is pegged by most sources as a -2000 favorite or more, making her one of the biggest betting favorites in UFC history.

But that does not mean we should count Létourneau out. Once again, she is a talented fighter with some dangerous striking of her own, and a strong enough grappling skillset to potentially give Jedrzejczyk issues. And of course, the precedent is there. We've seen upsets of similar scales occur before. Matt Serra scored one when he stopped Georges St-Pierre in 2007. Fabricio Werdum did the same with his 2010 defeat of Fedor Emelianenko. More recently, TJ Dillashaw shocked the world with his first thrashing of Renan Barão. Unlikely as they may be, upsets are an ever-present possibility in the fight game, and really, it's this possibility of a shakeup that makes our sport so compelling.

So, while the world may be counting Valérie Létourneau out, do not be fooled. She is not without her weapons, as Jedrzejczyk is not without her weaknesses. On Saturday night, she may succeed where Rory MacDonald, Alexis Davis and TJ Grant have failed. On Sunday morning, Canada might wake up with its first UFC champion since Georges St-Pierre vacated his title.