The UFC is putting the spotlight on the women’s flyweight division, as TUF 26 will feature female flyweights. The UFC is looking to build their flyweight division, which is why they are using “The Ultimate Fighter” series. They did the same thing when they started the strawweight division three years ago. The UFC currently has a 115-pound strawweight division and a 135-pound bantamweight division. The addition of the flyweight division will be a welcome sight for many women fighters who have struggled to make one of those two weights. Also in UFC news, a number of marquee matchups have been set for UFC 213, including two title fights.
Bet on UFC at BookMaker.euFemale Flyweights at TUF 26
The addition of a flyweight division in the UFC will be very important for a number of fighters who have struggled to make weight, as 135 pounds is too much for some women, while 115 pounds is not enough. The 125-pound weight class will be featured at TUF 26, with flyweight fighters being invited to try out for the show which begins filming in July. Current UFC fighters can also try out for the show, and that means we might see strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk competing at TUF 26.
Jedrzejczyk has been great in the UFC and has no challengers at 115 pounds. She has talked about becoming the first two-weight champion in the UFC. She will be fighting at UFC 211 on May 13, as she takes on Jessica Andrade. Jedrzejczyk is listed as a -165 favorite at BookMaker.eu. Another fighter who could be on the show is Paige VanZant, who has complained about not being able to compete close to her natural weight of 125. The UFC had a flyweight fight last June when Joanne Calderwood defeated Valerie Letourneau.
UFC 213 Matchups
UFC 213 takes place on July 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and it will feature two title fights. Cody Garbrandt will defend his bantamweight title against T.J. Dillashaw, while Amanda Nunes defends her bantamweight title against Valentina Shevchenko.
Garbrandt and Dillashaw are former teammates and training partners, but now they are fierce rivals and opposing coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption.” “You definitely learn some new things about his character and who he is,” Dillashaw said to UFC.com. “In my mind, he’s not a very good person — he’s about himself and very selfish, and that also comes across in training. I saw a lot of new things that I’m going to be able to use to my advantage in this training camp and in our fight.”
The other title fight has Amanda Nunes defending her bantamweight title against Valentina Shevchenko. Nunes has won her last five fights, four by finish. Shevchenko has won her last two fights and seven of her last eight. These two met at UFC 196 in March of last year with Nunes winning by unanimous decision.
Also announced for UFC 213, it will be Fabricio Werdum taking on Alistair Overeem and Robbie Lawler vs. Donald Cerrone. It will be the third matchup between Werdum and Overeem, as Werdum beat Overeem in 2006 when the two fought in PRIDE FC. They met again in 2011 in Strikeforce with Overeem winning by decision. Werdum is coming off a win against Travis Browne last time out, while Overeem defeated Mark Hunt.
Lawler and Cerrone were supposed to fight last year but Lawler had to withdraw. Lawler has not fought since losing to Tyron Woodley more than a year ago. Cerrone was beaten in his last fight, as he lost to Jorge Masvidal in January.
Another fight that has been announced has Anthony Pettis taking on Jim Miller. Pettis will be going back to lightweight after losing at featherweight, while Miller was beaten last time out by Dustin Poirier at UFC 208.
Other fights that are expected to be confirmed soon for UFC 213 are Travis Browne vs. Oleksiy Oliynk, Daniel Omielanczuk vs. Curtis Blaydes and Thiago Santos vs. Gerald Meerschaert.
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