Ana Julaton is the latest flyweight to sign to Bellator.
Julaton is a former world champion in boxing, and has made the transition to MMA with her stint in One Championships. With a new focus, she is hoping to continue her success in Bellator, going back to her martial arts roots. Continue reading Video: Ana Julaton talks Signing to Bellator; State of Women’s Boxing
With 4 wins in Combate Americas, Kyra Batara is no doubt the #1 contender for the currently vacant 105 title.
Batara was looking for win number 5 a few weeks ago, but an injury sidelined her. The injury isn’t sidelining her for long as she looks to be back in “la jaula” before year’s end in. Continue reading Video: Kyra Batara Talks Possible Title Shot; Combates 105 Division
It was an almost two year journey for Sarah Moras to get back into the octagon.
After some injures and having to do a GoFundMe page to pay for camp, she was able to shake off any cage rust and get a submission victory over Ashlee Evans-Smith at UFC 215 a few weeks ago. Continue reading Video: Sarah Moras Talks Successful UFC Return
The Ultimate Fighter 26 has started and December 1, we will crown the first UFC women’s flyweight champion.
Over 40 women tried out with 16 entering the house to make history, with some familiar names and some new fighters looking to upset and become stars overnight.
The teams were selected by the coaches – Justin Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez, and the fighters were seeded in the tournament.
Here is a breakdown of the teams and their seeds.
Team Gaethje |
Team Alvarez |
#1 Roxanne Modafferi (21-13) – The current number 2 ranked fighter had seen a resurgence since her move to Syndicate after TUF 18. She went 6-2 since the show, with her only losses by decision to top 5 fighters Jennifer Maia and Vanessa Porto, both we suspect will be signed to the UFC soon. Since her loss to Invicta’s champ Maia, Modafferi has finished both of her opponents.
Things to look out for: Modafferi has been through the TUF process before and is the only one in the house who can say it. With a vast improved striking game and competing at her natural fighting weight, hard not to see her in the finals to possibly even the score with Honchak.
Previous Opponents in the house: DeAnna Bennett (win; split decision 2016), Barb Honchak (loss; RNC in 2011)
Opponents currently in the UFC: Raquel Pennington (L)
#5 Maia Stevenson (6-4) – Wife of UFC Fighter Joe Stevenson, she trains out of his gym in California. After a rough start, she has won five straight bouts.
What to Look Out For: Although her resent wins have been impressive, none had winning records.
Previous Opponents in the house: None
Opponents currently in the UFC: Danielle Taylor (L)
#6 Montana Stewart (7-4) – The Factory X MMA product out of Texas hasn’t faded away from tough competition, having faced Mackenzie Dern , Cynthia Calvillo, and Kathina Lowe in the past year. She does training camps with Bellator’s Emily Ducote, and Jihn Yi Frey, and did so before entering the house.
What to Look Out For: Usually fighting at 115, a move up may help her, especially having to make weight week after week. It also might means she is undersized.
Previous Opponents in the house: None
Opponents currently in the UFC: Cynthia Calvillo (L)
#8 Emily Whitmire (2-1) – Originally from Oregon, she moved out to Vegas to train with Miesha Tate at Xtreme Couture. The former Tuff-n-uff flyweight champ had been fighting at 115. She has a notable win over Bellator star Emily Ducote. She is a seven year vet of the sport.
What to Look Out For: Her striking is her best attribute, but expect some wrestling mixed in as her training with Tate has expanded her arsenal. Experience may also play a factor.
Previous Opponents in the house: None
Opponents currently in the UFC: None
#10 Rachael Ostovich (3-3): The InvictaFC star has had some wars, but is coming off a TKO loss to Christine Ferea. The Hawaiian looks to change her fortunes.
What to Look Out For: Wrestlers overall has found the most success in TUF, so it could be an X-factor for her.
Previous Opponents in the house: Ariel Beck (Win; split decision in 2016)
Opponents currently in the UFC: None
#13 Karine Gevorgyan (3-2) – One of two European fighters in the house, she will be the first female Armenian ever to be on the show. This will be her US debut after fighting in many other countries.
What to Look Out For: Little is know about her, but she has been game taking on a lot more experienced opponent. The question will be if she will fair better inside the house.
Previous Opponents in the house: None
Opponents currently in the UFC: Veronica Macedo(L)
#14 Nicco Montano (3-2): Teammate of InvictaFC’s Amber Brown, Montano is the former King of the Cage Flyweight champion. Her only losses have been at bantamweight.
What to Look Out For: She will be stepping up in competition as she has yet to face anyone with more than two fights. That being said, she went four rounds in her title win against Jamie Milanowski so could be durable.
Previous Opponents in the house: Shana Dobson (Win; Unanimous Decision)
Opponents currently in the UFC: None
#15 Gillian Robertson (3-2): The Canadian just started her pro career last year after an extensive amateur stint, where she saw wins over Ashley Greenway and Cheyanne Vlismas . She has moved her camp to American Top Team in Florida.
What to Look Out For: Don’t let her pro record fool you as her amateur career was extensive going 8-1. Could be a dark horse. She will be going up from 115 which should help with the constant weight cuts in the house.
Previous Opponents in the house: None
Opponents currently in the UFC: Cynthia Calvillo (L)
#2 Barb Honchak (12-2) – The former InvictaFC flyweight champion started was training with Miletich until it closed. She soon moved to the west coast and took some time off from fighting. Her only pro losses were to good friend and training partner Cat Zingano and a close split decision to Angela Magana, both in 2010.
Things to look out for: The former Invicta champ looked unbeatable in winning nine straight fights after her only losses in 2010. The big question will be cage rust after a two and a half year absence. She has been training with Cat Zingano at Alliance MMA in preparation.
Previous Opponents in the house: Roxanne Modafferi (win; RNC in 2011)
Opponents currently in the UFC: Felice Herrig (W), Nina Ansaroff (W), Leslie Smith (W).
#3 Lauren Murphy (9-3) – The former Invicta bantamweight champion is the only current UFC fighter in the house. All of her losses have been by decision. She is currently training at the world renowned MMA Lab in Arizona.
Things to look out for: This will be the first time Murphy will be dropping to 125, which under this situation maybe a huge obstacle. Her UFC run with experienced talent will be an asset.
Previous Opponents in the house: None
Opponents currently in the UFC: Kelly Faszholz (W), Katlyn Chookagian (L), Liz Carmouche (L), Sara McMann (L)
#4 DeAnna Bennett (8-3) – The former title challenger us on a three fight skid, but will be fight at the weight class she has had the most success. Out of the Pit Elevated in Utah, she is hoping to restart her career in the house.
What to Look Out For: Bennett will be one to watch for “Fight of the Season”, but hasn’t finished a fight since 2014. With two round fights, it will be interested to see if the added rounds will be necessary for her.
Previous Opponents in the house: Roxanne Modafferi (loss; split decision 2016)
Opponents currently in the UFC: Julianna Peña 
#7 Melinda Fabian (4-3-1) – The second of the two European fighters will also be making her US debut. The Hungarian just started her career in 2015, but has fought everywhere from the Philippines to Finland.
What to Look Out For: She has been fighting heavier as of late, so the question first is will she make weight. The other thing to consider: the combined record of those she defeated: 0-3.
Previous Opponents in the house: None
Opponents currently in the UFC: Katlyn Chookagian (L)
#9 Christina Marks (8-8) – Marks is an eight year vet of the sport and currently trains out of the UFC Gym in San Diego. She had a rocky start in her career, but has faced tough challengers, and is currently on a three fight win streak.
What to Look Out For: Experience will be in her side, but this will be her toughest test against top notch talent in the top seeds.
Previous Opponents in the house: None
Opponents currently in the UFC: Sara McMann (L)
#11 Ariel Beck (4-4) – The Legacy and Invicta vet has proven tougher than she looks in her losses to Ostovich and Andrea Lee. She trained at the MMA Lab for this camp.
What to Look Out For: Beck is known for her striking, but a trip to the MMA Lab should help her growing ground game. She is really tough to finish as of late, and was a but of a late starter in her match with Ostovich. With two rounds, she needs to make sure she get going earlier.
Previous Opponents in the house: Rachael Ostovich (loss; split decision in 2016)
Opponents currently in the UFC: None
#12 Sijara Eubanks(2-2) – The InvictaFC vet has a military background and has stood toe toe in grappling competitions will main stars if the sport. The Maryland native is teammates with UFC star James Vick.
What to Look Out For: Her grappling has been beneficial as her striking is still coming along. Like we said earlier, wrestlers tend to do well in the tournament.
Previous Opponents in the house: None
Opponents currently in the UFC: Katlyn Chookagian (L)
#16 Shana Dobson(2-1) – The Texan is a vet of King of the Cage and is one of the more less experienced fighters in the house.
What to Look Out For: It’s hard to see Dobson make it past the first round of the tournament, but stranger things have happened.
Previous Opponents in the house: Nicco Montano (Loss; unanimous decision in 2016)
Opponents currently in the UFC: None
Opening Round
(1) Roxanne Modafferi def. Shana Dobson (16) by TKO round 1 (week 1)
(8) Emily Whitmire vs. Christina Marks (9) (week 8)
(12) Sijara Eubanks def. (5) Maia Stevenson by kimura round 1 (week 5)
(4) DeAnna Bennett def. Karine Gevorgyan (13) by TKO round 1 (week 2)
(2) Barb Honchak def. (15) Gillian Robertson by TKO round 2 (week 6)
(7) Melinda Fabian vs. Rachael Ostovich (10) (week 7)
(6) Montana Stewart def. Ariel Beck (11) by d’arce choke round 1 (week 3)
(14) Nicco Montano def. Lauren Murphy (3) by unanimous decision (week 4)
Quarterfinals
(1) Roxanne Modafferi vs. tbd
(4) DeAnna Bennett vs. (12) Sijara Eubanks
(6) Montana Stewart vs. (14) Nicco Montano
(2) Barb Honchak vs. tba
The 25th card in InvictaFC history will make an unusual Thursday night appearance at the Tachi Palace in Leemore, California. The event will stream on UFC Fight Pass starting at 6 p.m. pst/9 p.m. est.
The main event will fill the vacant 135 title as Raquel Pa’aluhi will take on former title challenger Yana Kunitskaya. The co-main event will see the Invicta debut of undefeated Janaisa Morandin taking on former 115 champion and fellow Brazilian Livia Renata Souza.
Two athletes missed weight as Kali Robbins (3.4 lbs over) and Katharina Lehner (5.5 lbs over) both hit the scales heavy. They will be fined 25% of their purses.
Here is the weigh-in results and a breakdown of the card. Continue reading Invicta FC 25 Primer
It will be a homecoming for Colleen Schneider Friday night.
Scheinder will return to the area she grew up in Verona, New York Friday night to take on TUF 23 semi-finalist Kate Jackson at Bellator 182. Scheinder is coming off an impressive submission win over Chrissie Daniels in January.
One of the top 5 fighters on the roster, a win could give her an argument for title contention. The timing is prefect Schneider told us, as she pointed out recently Valerie Letourneau has yet to debut.
The match in Verona was a long time coming, as she was born and raised down the road in Syracuse, New York before moving to the west coast in the start of her MMA career. She is expecting a lot of local support for the fight.
I will have tons of family there and friends from childhood. I have always hoped to fight in upstate New York specifically, and I never thought I’d get to since MMA wasn’t legal in New York, and when it was (legalized) I didn’t know how I would fight up there. I am really excited to stay up there.
Schneider has a long career of training different styles, from Sanshou to shoot wrestling. When asked about if she is set in one in particular?
I train everything…I don’t think I am limited to one style. That’s the way I see MMA as a whole. I am not trying to use just one style in MMA. I am trying to learn everything I can like karate, Taekwondo, Sanshou, Muay Thai, freestyle wrestling, catch wrestling, submission wrestling, jiu-jitsu. It’s about pulling that all together.
Schneider’s match will stream on Bellator.com. Stream starts at 6:30 p.m. est/3:30 p.m. pst.
Kristi Lopez is ready to get back in the mix this Friday as a part of Bellator 182 in Verona, New York. She will face Jessica Sotack for her overdue debut with Bellator, whom she signed a multi-fight contract with earlier this year.
Lopez will be fighting at 125 pounds in Bellator, which she tells us is a lot more comfortable of a weight cut than 115.
It has been nearly a year since Kristi Lopez stepped into a cage at the Ultimate Fighter 23, losing her “get in the house” match to JJ Aldrich by decision. Lopez had turned what was a loss into a positive note in her career.
It’s been a journey. There’s always ups and downs in fighting. It was very humbling and heartbreaking experience, but from that comes the biggest growth. Once you can overcome obstacles and hardships like that, you are ready for anything.
One of the test about being a fighter is if you can keep fight after a loss.
The 2-0 fighter is trained at King’s MMA as she prepared herself for the fight. She has been an up and coming prospect, having been featured on Oxygen’s “Living Different” in 2014 that chronicled her first pro win. After that, she was out with an injury for nearly 8 months. She used the best part of her time out of action.
Fighting is a lot mental. When you have something you want so bad and working so hard for taken away from you for a little bit in terms of an injury or a loss, I think you will either rise up for the challenge and want it that much more or you are going to quit. I am not a quitter.
During the long layoffs, I learned a lot about myself. When you get injured or have to take time off, or things aren’t going your way, you have to be able to persevere.
Lopez has a great support system in her family, which several are boxers. Although she took a different root with grappling, she is looking to return to add to her striking.
Looking at the division in Bellator, she admires Heather Hardy and Illima-Lei MacFarlane, and is looking to make her way up the ranks.
That starts Friday, which will kick off what will hopefully be a new chapter in Lopez’s career. Win or lose, she is happy to be where she is now.
I think things are meant to happen for a reason. One thing I have been feeling is grateful. Grateful for this opportunity. Grateful for Bellator. That just makes me train that much harder, and want this that much more. It makes me want to put on a great show.
Lopez’s match will stream on Bellator.com Friday.
(Photo courtesy Rizin)
One of the biggest female tournaments in Japan’s history us set to kick off October 15th.
The tournament will feature competitors from 5 different countries, with the winner receiving an over $90,000 grand prize. The winners of the October event will go on two fight twice New Year’s Eve weekend to win the championship. Continue reading Rizin Women’s Grand Prix Opening Round Announced
The biennial ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship is fast approaching and two women’s championships will be on the line.
16 female competitors will be heading to Finland for the tournaments, which will take place on September 23-24. Among them former champions Mackenzie Dern (215), Gabi Garcia (2013), and Michelle Nicolini (2013). Continue reading 2017 ADCC World Championships Female Competitors Announced
This past weekend the UFC finally announced the cast of The Ultimate Fighter 26. We have been keeping track of who was possibly on this past month, and finally Saturday night we got the list. The winner of the tournament will be crowned the inaugural flyweight .
Her is a preview of the tournament with our unofficial seeds and bios. Continue reading TUF 26 Preview: How the Cast Shapes Up for the Flyweight Title Tournament
(Photo courtesy Scott Hirano/InvictaFC)
One of the biggest female BJJ tournaments will cap off what will be a busy weekend in the women’s divisions of MMA.
On Sunday in Los Angeles and live on UFC Fight Pass, the Eddie Bravo Invitational’s 12 card will be dedicated to the ladies with two standout tournaments with familiar names from MMA and the BJJ community. Continue reading Interview: Gabby Romero Talks Invicta & EBI 12
Photo Courtesy Scott Hirano, Invicta FC
It’s been our bi-yearly tradition to compile data from the women’s divisions to show where we are at in terms of expansion, plus current trends and changes.
The past 6 months has seen a shift in some major categories and expansion to other countries continues.
Here are some of the women’s division’s stats for the first half of 2017, ending on June 30. Continue reading First Half 2017 Pro WMMA Stats by the Numbers
