Nunes (11-4) has won back to back fights via first round TKOs and is the only fighter to have finished all her opponents in her UFC wins in the first round. Her lone UFC loss was to Cat Zingano.
Tate (17-5) has won four straight since losing to Zingano and Rousey. A win would see her get a third crack at the champ.
The fight would be in the main card on whatever event the UFC decides. The two front runners for the match are the TUF 22 finale December 11th in Vegas or UFC on Fox 17 on December 19 in Orlando, Florida.
It will be the ladies that will kick off 2016 as both UFC female champions will defend their belts at UFC 195 in Las Vegas, NV on January 2.
In a surprise to most fans, the UFC has given Holly Holm a shot at bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey. The former world boxing champion is undefeated in MMA, coming off a win over Marion Reneau by decision. Holm will be the most talented striker Rousey has faced so far.
This announcement comes much to the dismay of Miesha Tate, who was heavily speculated to get her 3rd crack at the champ.
The co-main event will most likely see the much anticipated rematch between champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Claudia Gadhela. The match hinges on medical clearances from both fighters after hand injuries.
The first time around, Jędrzejczyk took home a razor thin split decision which earned her a shot at then champion Carla Esparza. Jędrzejczyk would take home the title. Gadhela defeated former #1 fighter Jessica Aguilar to gain the rematch, this time with the gold on the line.
Both matches will be on the main pay-per-view card.
Rousey campaigned for the fight to be her next one, and insisted she wanted to take the undefeated star out in her home country. Correia has beat two of Rousey’s “Four Horsewomen” teammates. This will be the fourth time Rousey will face an undefeated fighter in her career.
The match will most likely serve as the main event of the card.
Coming off a busy February, all the Women’s Unified Pro MMA Rankings saw changes coming off the InvictaFC 12 card , the opening round of the DEEP-JEWELS 106 tournament, and all the UFC events.
Justino Courtesy Esther Lin/InvictaFC
Featherweight
With the return of Cris “Cyborg” Justino, the InvictaFC champion regains her #1 status at featherweight after her TKO win over Charmaine Tweet. Marloes Coenen (now 2), Julia Budd (now 3), and Faith Van Duin (now 4) all drop a spot. Talita Nogueira drops off the list due to activity.
Tweet drops from 7 to 10 in the rankings due to her loss, rotating Amanda Bell (now 7), Gabrielle Holloway (now 8) and Megan Anderson (now 9) up a spot.
Bantamweight
With her loss to champion Ronda Rousey, Cat Zingano drops from #2 to #3, trading spots with Miesha Tate in the only change in the 135 top ten.
Flyweight
With Deanna Bennett’s successful drop to 115, she drops out of the 125 rankings. All of the fighters from 4-8 in the flyweight rankings last month move up a spot. Roxanne Modafferi moves from 10 to 8, with Jin Tang (9) and Silvana Gomez (10) debuting on the list.
Strawweight
With her win over Mizuki Inoue, Alexa Grasso has debuted in the top ten at strawweight, taking the #8 spot. Tecia Torres (now #9) and Kalindra Faria (now #10) drop a spot.
Atomweight
At 105, Mina Kurobe enters the list at #9 after her win over Emi Tomimatsu at the DEEP-JEWELS tournament. Cassie Rodish drops off the list with Saori Ishioka dropping a spot to #10.
The WMMA Press committee will from time to time on a deserving basis give out the “Legacy Award” to honor an individual who has helped shape and pioneer women’s MMA.
This year we will give that honor to Barry Meyer (posthumously), who helped run Tuff-n-uff MMA helping develop female amateur mixed martial arts and helped create stars such as Ronda Rousey.
Meyer started the promotion in 1994 but would hold his first amateur MMA event in 2003. He held what would be one of the first all female amateur events in July 2009. Since then, Tuff-n-uff has helped groom Rousey, Marina Shafir, Tonya Evinger, Jessamyn Duke, the Lybarger twins, among others to become stars in MMA.
He also was instrumental in helping Mia Hayes fight for the promotion. Hayes, a cancer patient, wanted to live the dream of being a mma fighter, and Meyer was able to set up a fight under the Tuff-n-uff banner. Meyer established the “Might Mia” Inspirational Fighter of the Year award, an award the WMMA Press has also adopted.
Meyer passed in 2013 but his legacy still continues with his brother Jeff, who has established tournaments to help develop stars for Invicta.
Barry Meyer touch so many involved in the women’s divisions that he more than deserves to be our Legacy Award winner this year.
The title match between Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano has finally got a date.
The two will square off for the UFC bantamweight title January 3rd and will serve at the co-main event at UFC 182 in Las Vegas. UFC Presidetn Dana White announced the bout Tuesday night.
Zingano has been considered the #1 contender for the belt for the past year, but has been sidelined with a knee injury. It seems to be healed as she looked strong against Amanda Nunes in her return match this past September.
Rousey is coming off a 16 second TKO over Alexis Davis this past July.
WSOF vet Alida Gray (4-1) is the newest edition to the strawweight division. Having scored a 5 second award winning knockout last year, Gray suffered her first loss as a pro to champion WSOF Jessica Aguilar.
Bantamweight Evva Johnson (1-0) is also looking to make some waves. Going 8-1 as an amateur with 6 submission, she is coming off a second round win over Priscilla Brownfield.
Ediane Gomes also announced she has renewed her contract with Invicta this week.
DEEP-JEWELS announced four more fights for their November 2 card.
Besides the atomweight title bout between atomweight Seo Hee Ham and Saori Ishioka, former WSOF title challenger Emi Fujino (13-8) will face Ayaka Miura (1-0). Bantamweight Shizuka Sugiyama (11-4-1) looks to get back on the winning track taking on Yurika Nakakura (3-1).
Also Tomo Maesawa (3-4) faces Yuko “Amiba” Oya (8-3) and Satomi “Sarami” Takano (3-4) takes on Mina Kurobe (3-0).
InvictaFC flyweight contender Jennifer Maia will be back in action November 15 as she takes on Paraguay’s Stephanie Bragayrack in Curitiba, Brazil. DaMadeFerroMMA reported the match Friday.
Maia (9-3-1) has won back to back outside of Invicta this past year. He last loss was to the UFC’s Leslie Smith. She has wins over Zoila Frausto and Jessica Andrade.
Bragayrack (3-1) could make a quick name for herself over the top ten ranked Maia. She has two TKO wins to her credit.
Colleen Schneider has a new opponent for fighter October 4th in Tacoma, WA.
Brenda Gonzalez (5-1) will challenge Schneider for her Super Fight League flyweight title as the Indian promotion will make its US debut.
Gonzales finished in all but one of her wins, with her lone loss coming from UFC fighter Rina Nakai. The New Mexico native trains with InvictaFC signee Amber Brown and UFC fighter Tim Means.
Schneider won the SFL title last year in Mumbai, India with a keylock submission over Sanja Sucevic. She won four straight before losing to InvictaFC fighter DeAnne Bennett. She is training under UFC fighters Josh Barnett and Shayna Baszler.
Also added to the card, Cheryl Chan will take on Hadley Griffith.
The event will stream live and free on the SFL Youtube page October 4th.
The IMMAF will be compiling a list of amateur fights and fighters for global database in the coming months.
The group plans on contacting promoters and industry professionals to get updated stats in order help their cause of making amateur MMA a world wide option for the sport.
We will have more details on how to help in the upcoming weeks.
Tina Lähdemäki was to face Juliana de Lima Carneiro in November but has sustained an eye injury and will be out until early 2015.
We did another article for MMA Jam, this time tackling promotions commitment (or lack of) in their women’s divisions. You can read it here.
Lee
On the podcast Sunday at 1 pm. pst/4 p.m. est, we will talk to Andrea Lee about her InvictaFC signing, the freak incident in her pro debut last weekend, and staying busy.
Gina Carano versus Ronda Rousey isn’t happening anytime soon.
Carano is currently booked for two movies at the end of this his year and the January 3 bout won’t be possible. UFC President Dana White stated he couldn’t believe how much she wanted to face Rousey, but it only makes sense because it’s very unlikely Carano would win.
Scheduled Fights
Pro MMA
In a fight that could determine Ronda Rousey’s next opponet will happen in Vegas Saturday as Cat Zingano will return from a year and a half absence to face Amanda Nunes. Both Zingano and Nunes came in at 135.
Zingano (8-0) defeated Miesha Tate in a title eliminator last year, but a knee injury sidelined her. She has yet to taste defeat and has only went to decision once in her pro career.
Nunes (9-3) is looking for her third UFC win, having had back to back TKOs. She has finished in all her wins with a 14 second knockout.
The fight will be a part of the main card and will air on pay per view.
XFCi is back Saturday with the opening round of their flyweight tournament and the finals of their strawweight tounament.
In the battle of the Vanessa’s, Guimaraes (3-2) will face Melo (3-2) in the finals of the strawweight grand prix that started this past spring.
The flyweight grand proix opening round will feature Brazil taking on the world.
American Rachael Cummins (2-1) will battle Brazil’s Taila Santos (3-0)
Mexico’s Karina Rodrigues (3-1) takes on Brazilian Poliana Botelho (2-1)
Russian Julia Borisova (3-0) faces Brazilian Debora Ferreira (3-0)
The fight will stream live and free on XFCMMA.com.
In other pro bouts:
At Triple A MMA in Santa Fe, NM, Natalie Roy takes on Nohime Dennison
Roberta Paim faces Tais Machado at Duel of the Titans in Brazil
At Eternal MMA 7 in Australia Tam Taylor battles Zoie Shreiweis
Aline Cruz fights Naiara “Guerreira” Pereira at Federal Fight in Brazil
At We Love MMA in Germany, Anne Merkt takes on Katharina Lehner
Ammy MMA
In amateur bouts:
At British Challenge MMA in Colchester, England, Monica Nix faces Wendy McKenna
Veronica Muller takes in Caroline Cornell at Glory Fights in Woodbridge, Virginia
In a pair of bouts at Aggressive Combat in Jamaica, NY, Destiny Quinones battles Jillian DeCoursey and Katalina Morales fights Sarah Thomas
Jasmine Crawford takes on Samantha Harris at Cage Combat in Humble, Texas
In a pair of bouts at King of the Cage in Carlton, Minnesota Sarah Jacobson faces Hope Sanftner and Missy Pontbriand battles Elizabeth McKenzie
At Fists of Fury in Lawton, Oklahoma, Wendy Simmons fights Stephanie Hull (115)
Boxing
Tori Nelson looks to defend her WIBA welterweight title for a fouth time as she takes on the former WBF welterweight champion Arlene Blencowe in Springfield, Virginia.
Nelson (10-0-3) was the WIBA and WBC middleweight champion before winning the title last September.
Australian’s Blenclowe (2-2) will be fight for the first time in the US and will look to turn some heads. She also fights in MMA.
Also on the card, Tyrieshia Douglas faces Whitney Gunter.
In Moscow, Russia, Svetlana Kulakova will face Ana Laura Esteche to unify the WBA World light welterweight titles in a rematch. The two battled on June to a split draw.
Kulakova (9-0-1) is unbeaten and won the interim title this past November.
Esteche (10-3-2) won the WBA championship in January, her first world title.
A tri of bouts will happen in Whitehall, New York, featuring a fight for the interim WIBA lightweight title.
Melissa St Vil and Nicole Woods will battle for the championship. St Vil is the current vacant IWBF welterweight champion and will be looking for her first world title.
In the other two bouts are the card, Ronica Jeffrey takes on Stacey Reile and Sarah Kuhn battles Olivia Fonseca
In other pro boxing action:
In Buenos Aires, Argentina Sabrina Maribel Perez defends her WBC Silver super bantamweight title against Florencia Roxana Canteros
Carleans Rivas faces Lady Love Sampiton for the initial Philippines GAB flyweight title in Manila, Philippines
In a trio of bouts in Quintana Roo, Mexico, Zulina Munoz battles Karina Hernandez, Yesenia Gomez fights Anely Hernandez, and Yareli Larios dukes it out with Gloria Romero (126)
Delfine Persoon faces Judy Waguthii in West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
In Skopje, Macedonia, Maria Semertzoglou takes on Galina Gumliiska
Naroyuki Koasicha battles Araceli Gualito in San Luis Potosí, Mexico
In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Laura Soledad Griffa fights Norma Elizabeth Diaz Caucota
Alicia Melina Kummer dukes it out with Roxana Tenea in Berlin, Germany
In Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany, Bintou Schmill faces. Mirjana Vujic
No word on when she will debut with the promotion.
The International MMA Federation tournament started this week with several female bouts. The finals will happen Saturday at the UFC Expo.
Here are the results so far. (Sorry for no countries or weight classes – they weren’t listed.)
Aleksi Nurminen def. Daniele De Santis by TKO (Strikes) 1:28 round 2
Amanda Ribas def. Micol Di Segni by unanimous decision
Aleksandra Milczarek def. Lisa Engelke by submission 2:03 round 2
Amanda Lino def. Andrea Whitney by TKO (Strikes) 2:21 round 1
Rachel Abou Abdallah and Florence Berthet received byes.
Grapplers Quest will have a all female superfight tournament Saturday at the UFC Expo in Vegas. It will be no time limit until someone taps. UFC fighter Cat Zingano and pro MMA flyweight Rahcael Cummins are set to take part.
Here is the quarterfinal bouts. Winner will be crowned the same day.
Nyjah Easton vs. Jennifer Chareunvong
Jennifer Perez vs. TBA
Cat Zingano vs. Liz Exell
Ila Erickson vs. Rachael Cummins
Pati Fontes vs. Gillian Silver
Chelsea Bainbridge Donner vs. Jessy Miele
Vivian Velez vs. Amanda Leve
Bre Stikk vs. tba
Betrian
Kickboxing and Muay Thai champion Jemyma Betrian will make her transition to the MMA in August. Betrian (29-2-1 Muay Thai; 35-2-1 overall kickboxing) will face a yet-to-be-named opponent at Choas at the Casino 5 August 10 in Inglewood, CA.
She KOed Christi Brereton in her last match this past month at WCK Muay Thai in Temecula, California. She is currently training with UFC champion Rhoda Rousey. She will be fighting at strawweight.
The main event will feature Marina Shafir taking on Nikita Netjes. No word on if this will be streamed.
Lívia Renata Souza will be staying busy this summer before her fall debut in Invicta. Souza is fighting on Aug 21 against França Godoy at X-Fight MMA in Sao Paulo Brazil.
Cage Warriors did a great retrospective on Rosi Sexton this past week. It covers her promotional career from her first fight to her retirement from the sport this past month. You can watch it here.
Tweet
On the podcast Sunday at 1 p.m. pst/4 p.m. est, we will be talking to Charmiane Tweet who is looking to return to Invicta, preparing for her boxing debut, and started to invite fighters from across North American to train with here.
InvictaFC 8 is now looking at a September date. Most likely date is September 20, the same day Miesha Tate will face Rin Nakai in Japan. Since that card will be on Fight Pass (and out of the country), would make sense to help promote the channel.
By the looks of it, UFC fighter Leslie Smith maybe an assistant coach for TUF 20. Gilbert Melendez and Smith have trained a great deal together.
Upcoming Fights
Pro MMA
Rousey and Davis
UFC champion Ronda Rousey has her toughest challenge to date (in her own words) against Alexis Davis Saturday at UFC 175.
The fight has become about “BJJ vs. Judo”, as Judo black belt Rousey wants to prove her art is better than BJJ. Davis is a black belt in Japanese and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and feels her skills on the ground will be able to negate the armbar, and she will tap Rousey.
Both weighed in Friday, with Rousey (135) and Davis (135) both coming in on weight.
The match will serve as the co-main event and will be live on ppv Saturday.
On Sunday, Sarah Moras and Alexis Dufresne will make their octagon debuts at The Ultimate Fighter 19 finale in Vegas live on Fox Sports 1.
Moras has a win over TUF 18 winner Juliana Pena, which Pena avenged in the semi-finals of the show. Moras went undefeated as an amateur and finished in all of her pro wins.
Dufresne (5-0) has finished all of her opponents in the first round with her longest match being 2:20. She got a 45 second TKO over Kim Couture in February, and will look to make her bantamweight debut in the UFC.
The match is set to air on Fox Sports 1 on the preliminary portion of the card.
In other pro bouts:
At Elite Warrior Challenge in Roanoke, VA, Rachel Sazoff faces Allison Haynes
Taila Santos takes on Geisyele Nascimento at UOC 1 in Panara, Brazil
Ammy MMA
In the only ammy fight (besides the IMMA Federation tournament) Jemma Jacques battles Katy Horlick at ICE FC in Manchester, England
Boxing
Shannon O’Connell and Bronwyn Wylie will battle for the vacant WIBA super bantamweight title in Victoria, Australia.
O’Connell (9-3) will be dropping in weight for the bout, having been the WBF featherweight champion. She has five KOs to her credit.
Wylie (3-2) is looking for her first world title.
In other boxing action:
In Athens, Greece, Maria Semertoglou faces Jekaterina Lecko
Arely Mucino takes on Samson Tor Buamas in Guadalupe, Nuevo León, Mexico
At PXC Friday morning in Guam, Cortney Casey defeats Tomo Maesawa by TKO (corner stoppage) round 1.
Rin Nakai is officially a part of the UFC. Nakai was at the UFC Japan press conference Thursday, formally announcing the fight between herself and Miesha Tate September 20 in Satimyama, Japan. The fight will be on UFC Fight Pass.
Nakai (16-0-1) is facing her toughest opponent in Tate (14-5) and a win would put her in the UFC title hunt.
For the first time at the ESPY Awards a female MMA fighter has been nominated.
UFC champion Ronda Rousey has been nominated for two of the sport channel’s awards; “Female Athlete of the Year” and “Best Fighter”. The Awards will broadcast on July 16.
Undefeated flyweight Roma Pawelek will have her last amateur fight August 1 at Tuff-n-uff MMA in Vegas. She will take on Aspen Ladd (7-1) for the Tuff-n-uff 125 title in the bout.
Pawelek (5-0) has finished in all her fights with her strong ground game. Ladd (7-1) has yet to be finished in a fight, finishing in five of her 7 wins.
It is expected to stream on Go Fight Live for $12.
Flannery Courtesy Skyline Productions
Wimp2Warrior had their second season finale card last weekend in Sydney, Australia, which saw five female fights. All of them were making their MMA debuts after training for the past six months on the show, which turns ordinary people into fighters.
Alessia Espinosa-Vallve def. Komlani Turnbull by submission
Isabella Truong def. Kelly Renford by decision
Jay Vautier Hartnett def. Nina Ridder by TKO round 1
Angela Flannery def. Amy Robinson by TKO round 1
Roxey Kelly def. Kelly Lawson by decision
We hope these ladies will continue their journey in MMA.
InvictaFC champion Michelle Waterson joined the ever growing sisterhood that has tried the “Ninja Warrior” course.
The tv show challenges athletes all over the world to take on one of the most difficult obstacle courses ever conceived. Waterson was the first female MMA fighter to take on the American version. She didn’t fair too well, but that’s par for the course.
A list of female fighters that tried the Japanese course include Megumi Fujii, Mizuno Yuko, Yuka Tsuji, Hisae Watanabe, and Kyra Gracie. No one has finished it.
Two more fighters will be appearing on the Japanese version as Shootboxer Rena and Muay Thai fighter Little Tiger will try to get farther than the rest.
RFA matchmaker Scott Cutbirth announced this week the date for the first card of his new promotion “Survivor Fighting Alliance”. The amateur promotion’s debut card will take place September 20.
The promotion will be used as a stepping stone for up and coming talent to be signed to promotions like TitanFC and RFA. Cutbirth stated he is a huge supporter of female fighters, and will look to add female divisions starting with his first show.
Moras
On the podcast Sunday at 1 p.m. pst/4 p.m. est, we will talk to TUF 18’s Sarah Moras about her official UFC debut and the road back to the cage.
UFC Tonight reported that Holly Holm’s negotiations with the UFC are heating back up. The promotion and Holm’s management had a rocky start a few months ago in their first meeting, but it looks like the UFC is still interested.
On the other hand, Gina Carano’s contract negotiations have stalled. Carano’s Strikeforce contract ended this past week. With Scott Coker taking over Bellator’s operations, it could be used as leverage if Carano comes back to the table.
According to a tweet on her twitter, Amanda Nunes is expected to make a fight announcement soon.
Ronda Rousey stated she will be “taking a vacation” after her title match July 5. However, she is looking to defend her title two more times before the year’s end.
Scheduled Fights
Pro MMA
TUF 18 hopeful Colleen Schneider is back in the cage this weekend as she will face DeAnna Bennett at Showdown Fights in Orem, UT.
Schneider (5-4) has won four straight, all by finishes. In her last fight, she got an armbar submission over Christina Marks in September.
The undefeated Bennett (3-0) has a win over TUF 18 winner Julianna Pena. Recently, she submitted Sharon Jacobson by first round rear naked choke in January.
In an amateur bout on the card, Kaytlin Neil faces Veta Arteaga.
In other pro bouts:
At CES MMA in Lincoln, RI, Kaline Medeiros takes on Brigitte Narcise
Katlyn Chookagian battles Rebecca Heintzman at CFFC in Philadelphia, PA
Ammy MMA
In amateur action this weekend:
In a trio of fights at XFO in Rockford, Illinois, Stacy Lutchman takes on Rickie Gomes, Shelby Hungness faces Brittany Giddings, and Chi Sheibley battles Terri Worley
At Cowboys Extreme Cage Fighting in San Antonio, Texas, Dominique Gonzales fights Katherine Roy, and Stephanie Builderback takes on Kelsey Hundt
Yasmin Almonte faces Elizabeth Vansertima and Jenna Serio battles Lauren Braccia at Ring of Combat in North Bergen, New Jersey
At Spartan Fighting Alliance in Osage City, Kansas, Tabitha Patterson fights Autumn Lamle
Yuri Madina takes on Maegan Goodwin at Battleground MMA in Tulsa, OK
At Spartan Combat League in Denver, CO, Mallory Martin battles Laura Dettman
Kim Russell faces Rebecca Moore at Combat Zone in Salem, NH
Boxing
Munoz and Domsodi Courtesy Golden Boy
A pair of WBC title bouts are set for Hidalgo, Mexico.
Zulina Munoz will defend her WBC super flyweight title against Renata Domsodi. Munoz (41-1-2) is on a 16 fight unbeaten streak and will be defending her title for the 6th time. Domsodi (12-4) is the current WBF and UBO Intentional bantamweight champion.
In a battle for the vacant WBC bantamweight title, Yazmin Rivas (29-8) will face Alesia Graf (26-4).
This will air in Mexico on Televisa.
In Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Dahiana Santana and Francia Elena Bravo will duke it out for the interim WBA featherweight title. Santana (33-6) is the current IBF featherweight champion on a six fight win streak. Bravo is on a seven fight win streak and is looking for her first world title.
WIBA welterweight champion Tori Nelson looks to continue her unbeaten streak alive as she takes on Nicole Woods in Baltimore, Maryland.
Nelson (9-0-3) is looking to defend her title for the third time. Woods (11-13-3) is looking for her first world title, and to gain a much needed win.
Also on the card, Tyrieshia Douglas dukes it out with Christina Fuentes.
In other boxing action:
Jessica Nery Plata defends her WBC Youth light flyweight title against Cristina Vargas in Mexico City, Mexico. Also on the card, Sandra Hernandez takes on Fredee Gonzalez
In Sandersdorf, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany, Nicole Wesner faces Hana Horakova
Jesica Espinal battles Lisbeth Lopez in Tegucigalpa, Honduras
In El Paso, Texas, Jennifer Han dukes it out with Christina Ruiz
In a pair of bouts in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, Sandra Robles takes on Zenny Sotomayor, and Amaris Quintana faces Susana Uribe
