When Liz Carmouche got the call from UFC about her next fight, she agreed without hesitation. The opponent didn’t matter.

Carmouche, who has only fought once a year since 2013, wanted back in the octagon on the heels of her win over Lucie Pudilova on Feb. 23 in Prague.

The details of her next fight turned out to be exactly what she was hoping for. Carmouche, UFC’s No. 3 flyweight, will face No. 5 Roxanne Modafferi on July 20 at the AT&T Center.

Carmouche is the highest-ranked fighter in any of the seven bouts set for San Antonio’s upcoming UFC Fight Night event, which will air on ESPN. More fights, including the main event, are yet to be announced.

Carmouche said the bout has been in the works for a while and should help her build toward a title fight.

“This is going to help a lot. This win will absolutely put me in title contention,” Carmouche said. “I don’t think there’s really any way they can deny me after this.”

But she’s no stranger to the spotlight. She was part of the first women’s fight in UFC history, losing a bantamweight title bout to Ronda Rousey at UFC 157 on Feb. 23, 2013.

UFC Fight Night July 20 at the AT&T Center Bantamweight bout Mario Bautista vs. Jin Soo Son Bantamweight bout Domingo Pilarte vs. Felipe Colares Women’s Flyweight bout No. 3 Liz Carmouche vs. No. 5 Roxanne Modafferi Light Heavyweight bout Sam Alvey vs. Klidson Abreu Women’s bantamweight bout No. 4 Raquel Pennington vs. No. 9 Irene Aldana Featherweight Bout Alex Caceres vs Steven Peterson Heavyweight Bout No. 9 Aleksei Oleinik vs No. 15 Walt Harris

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Rousey, who went on to global stardom as a fighter, actress and WWE wrestler, said this week in an interview with UFC that fighting Carmouche “felt bigger” than competing in the main event of this year’s Wrestlemania.

“I just felt like me and Carmouche was the most pivotal moment where everything had to happen that way, or else women’s MMA would’ve ended before it started,” Rousey said.

Carmouche has won two of her three bouts since moving to the 125-pound division, which UFC debuted in 2017. Carmouche said the new weight class marks an important step for women’s MMA.

She previously competed at the 135-pound bantamweight class and said the introduction of the new division has allowed her to fight at her more natural weight, with less strain to keep pounds on during training.

“I’ve been fighting at 135, just because I want to fight against the best in the world. I didn’t care what weight it was,” Carmouche said. “I’m finally in the weight class that fits me correctly, and that has made a substantial difference in my own health and how I’m able to approach fight training.”

Carmouche has been fighting professionally since 2010, after spending five years as an aviation electrician in the Marine Corps, including three tours in Iraq.

Modafferi is also an MMA veteran, first competing in 2003 in Japan. She has fought on various cards in the United States and abroad, participating in the UFC’s Ultimate Fighter series in 2013, 2017 and 2018. Her past two bouts were on UFC cards, and she split them.

Modafferi wrote an account of her training for ESPN last month and said she spent 10 years working toward the opportunity Carmouche received.

“I thought someday it would happen, and I just prayed it would happen during my career,” Modafferi said. “My dream was to be the first female in the UFC. Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche got that. I cried, but I was happy that it happened. I wished it was me.”

Carmouche said the history-making moment is one she’ll always carry with her.

Also fighting on the July card is Houston native Domingo Pilarte, who will make his UFC debut in a bantamweight bout against Felipe Colares. A winner on UFC president Dana White’s Contender Series, Pilarte was slated to make his debut at UFC 230 on Nov. 3 at Madison Square Garden before having to pull out after suffering an ACL tear when he slipped during wrestling training.

“I was really crushed about not being able to make my debut at Madison Square Garden. It’s every fighter and every athlete’s dream. That was something that was huge,” Pilarte said. “It actually really hurt. But when they let me know I would be fighting in Texas, I was actually really happy. I was like, ‘You know what? This is my chance to fight in the state that I’ve practically had my whole career in.’”

Pilarte said he regularly visits San Antonio to see his grandmother.

About seven months removed from his surgery, Pilarte said he’s lifting heavier weights on the leg than he was before the injury. Pilarte, 29, said he only started to feel more comfortable in the past month and will look to use his experience advantage against the 25-year-old Colares.

“It is my UFC debut, but at the same time, I’ve been in this sport for over 15 years,” Pilarte said. “I’ve been around the block. I’ve trained with the best. I’ve been doing this basically over half of my life. I just use my experience and take my time, and I know the finish will come.”

greg.luca@express-news.net