With all the talk about the UFC starting a new woman’s weight-class, it’s time to begin with the strawweights. Fans of woman’s mma and mma in general are excited to hear about another woman’s weight-class. UFC President Dana White and every fan that tuned into TUF 18 can agree that woman can have their own season of TUF without men and it will be exciting.
White today announced the promotion has acquired the contracts of 11 Invicta FC fighters, who will compete on the first ever all-women season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” The winner will not only be the first TUF winner of an all female season, but she will also be the first inaugural UFC strawweight champion.
TUF 20 has all the tools to be the best season ever. White told MMAjunkie that the participants likely will be coached by men, but isn’t ruling out female coaches. He added that a date and location for the show’s finale and title fight has yet to be determined.
“The fans like it, I’m thrilled with it, and we’re going to dive into the 115-pound division,” White said. “We’re invested, we’re in, as far as the women go.”
Filming kicks off May 18 and features Carla Esparza, Alex Chambers, Claudia Gadelha, Felice Herrig, Bec Hyatt, Emily Kagan, Juliana Lima, Rose Namajunas, Tecia Torres, Joanne Calderwood, and Paige VanZant. A debut date for the first episode wasn’t immediately announced.
~ Final Thought ~
I think we can all agree that the woman stole the show on TUF 18. The Raquel Pennington/Jessamyn Duke fight was one of the best fights I have ever seen. Dana White doesn’t mind regretting ever saying that woman will never fight in the UFC. All it took was one woman (Ronda Rousey) to start a whole weight-class in the UFC.
Now, with the strawweight division starting, one woman has the chance to not only be the face of the new woman’s divison, but also make history as the first woman’s strawweight champion and the first person to ever win an inaugural championship on TUF. I’m very happy to see woman get the respect they deserve and I can’t wait for TUF 20.
~Ben McPhee (Follow me on twitter – @mmawriter1)