Rebecca Ruth vs. Juliana Velasquez set for Bellator 197

Bellator’s next trip to the Show Me State just got a little more interesting.

Rebecca Ruth will meet prospect Juliana Velasquez at Bellator 197 on April 13 in St. Charles, Mo., the promotion announced Thursday.

Ruth (6-2) has not fought since falling to current Bellator women’s flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane in June 2016. The 39-year-old Missouri native was on a four-fight winning streak heading into that bout and could put her name on the short list of 125-pound title contenders with a win next month.

Velasquez (6-0) is coming off a second-round submission win over Na Liang at Bellator 189 in December. That was the 31-year-old Brazilian’s Bellator debut after having all of her fights in her native country previously.

Bellator 197 is headlined by a lightweight title fight between champion Brent Primus and former champ Michael Chandler. In the co-main event, blue-chip prospect AJ McKee takes on Justin Lawrence. Kevin Ferguson Jr., the son of Kimbo Slice, and hot young up-and-comer Logan Storley will also compete at the event, which will be held at The Family Arena and air on The Paramount Network.