The Current UFC Female MMA Fighters

The UFC list of female fighters has REALLY grown.
Before Dana White became Ronda Rosey's smitten kitten, he swore women would never fight in UFC.
Though he happily used Gina Carano to promote his stuff.

But now the UFC Women's Bantamweight roster has 27 fighters on it.

Of course the UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion is Ronda Rousey.

And although most of the fighters are from the USA and Canada, there are a few from Russia, Brazil and one from the Netherlands and one from Japan.

Ronda Rousey
Alexis Davis
Liz Carmouche
Jéssica Andrade
Miesha Tate
Bethe Correia
Amanda Nunes
Sarah Kaufman
Germaine de Randamie
Jessamyn Duke
Sara McMann
Raquel Pennington
Jessica Eye
Valérie Létourneau
Sarah Moras
Julianna Peña
Cat Zingano
Alexis Dufresne
Elizabeth Phillips
Jessica Rakoczy
Leslie Smith
Alexandra Albu
Shayna Baszler
Milana Dudieva
Holly Holm
Lauren Murphy
Rin Nakai

Female MMA - The UFC Women's Bantamweight Roster

I never thought I would be doing this, but here is the UFC WOMEN'S roster!
Yeah, the place where female mma would never have a home according to Dana White now has a home.
I have ragged him about this but actually I think maybe I should change my attitude and be grateful that he changed his mind.
It takes a big man to admit he was wrong you know?

Anyway, here is the UFC Women's Bantamweight Roster (so far....)

Ronda Rousey (7-0)
Liz Carmouche (8-3)
Germaine de Randamie (3-2)
Alexis Davis (13-5)
Sheila Gaff (10-4-1)
Sarah Kaufman (15-2)
Julie Kedzie (16-11)
Sara McMann (6-0)
Amanda Nunes (7-3)
Miesha Tate (13-3)
Cat Zingano (7-0)

These are all the women that I definitely know are there, not rumors.
If anyone else has any additions, please feel free to throw them in the comments section!

The Top Ten Female MMA Fighters of 2010

While doing some work on my female MMA lenses over at Squidoo (RIP) I came up with a list of the most searched for female mixed martial artists on the net.
Now you have to keep in mind, these are actual fighters, not people that are inactive like Gina Carano.

Actually Gina would STILL be number one by a wide margin, but she hasn't competed since the Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg fight when Cris beat her by TKO at 4:59 in the first round.
Gina has made no indication that she is coming back into the ring so far.

So here are the top ten most searched for female MMA fighters on the net right now.....

1. Miesha Tate (11-2-0)
2. Cristiane Santos (10-1-0)
3. Marloes Coenen (18-4-0)
4. Sarah Kaufman (12-1-0)
5. Amy Davis (1-2-0, 1 NC)
6. Megumi Fujii (23-1-0)
7. Zoila Frausto (10-1-0)
8. Carina Damm (15-5-0)
9. Lisa Ward (14-6-0)
10. Roxanne Modafferi (15-6-0)

You may notice that in this list, all of these women are really fighters.
With the exception of Amy Davis, they are all in the ten plus fight range and seven of them are ranked in MMARising.com's "Top 15 Women’s Pound-For-Pound MMA Rankings".
This leads me to believe that female MMA fight fans are actually going for talent and not looks.

I mean c'mon, would Gina have been as popular as she was were she not as hot as she was?

And speaking about that, Miesha Tate needs to watch out for that trap.
She's 11-2-0 and ranked number 11 on the top 15 pound for pound, but a lot of people are looking to her as the new "Face of Female MMA".
She hasnt fought since Strikeforce - Challengers 10 back on August 13th, 2010 when she beat Hitomi Akano by unanimous decision.

Of course all that will change when she takes on Strikeforce women’s 135-pound champion Marloes Coenen for the title, probably some time in March.

Then we'll see if she's the new "Face".



The Top Ten Female MMA Fighters of 2010, posted to http://femalemixedmartialartists.blogspot.com/ on January 9th, 2010

Marloes Coenen Vs Sarah Kaufman Results - Female MMA

Last night, Dutch submission specialist Marloes Coenen challenged Sarah Kaufman for the Strikeforce welterweight title at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, on the Showtime portion of Saturday night's Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II card.

In the first round, Marloes stayed on her feet and went toe to toe with Sarah who is known as a striker. Marloes being four inches taller than Sarah helped her stand up game.

In the second round, Sarah managed to reverse a take down attempt and fight off an arm bar.

In the third round, Marloes caught her in a armbar after Sarah reversed yet another takedown.
That led to her submission at one minute and 39 seconds in.

There is some controversy because it appeared Marloes held the arm bar even after Sarah tapped out.
Sarah was evidently upset about that and complained after the match.
Marloes said that she blamed the ref for being slow letting her know that Sarah had tapped.

After the fight, Marloes and Sarah met and worked everything out.

This win takes Marloes to 18-4-0, and drops Sarah to 12-1-0, breaking her undefeated record.

According to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, up next up for Marloes is Miesha Tate (11-2-0) sometime early in 2011.




Marloes Coenen Vs Sarah Kaufman Results - Female MMA, posted to http://femalemixedmartialartists.blogspot.com/ on October 10th, 2010

Female MMA - Strikeforce Challengers 10 Results

Miesha Tate, the next "Face of Female MMA"?

Last Friday (August 13th) at the Strikeforce Challengers 10 event they had the first women’s 135 lb tournament for the mixed martial arts promotion.
This tournament was to decide who would get a shot at the 135-pound belt currently held by Sarah Kaufman.

Hitomi Akano took on Carina Damm and won in the second round (1:48) with a triangle choke submission.

Miesha Tate got a descion win over Maiju Kujala after the second round (the semi final fights were two three minute rounds) with takedowns.

Then it was Miesha Tate versus Hitomi Akano in the final, with Miesha defeating Hitomi Akano via unanimous decision.

Now Miesha gets a crack at Sarah Kaufman's 135-pound title.

Well... that is after Marloes Coenen gets her chance.

To maintain momentum, I really think the Kaufman/Coenen fight should be held in September, with the winner taking on Miesha in Octiber.
But alas, this is not to be.
It looks like the fight will be "before the end of the year"....



Also at the Strikeforce Challengers 10 event, there was another female MMA bout with Liz Carmouche defeating Colleen Schneider via unanimous decision.

So after the smoke settled Friday night we were left with....
Hitomi "Girlfight Monster" Akano 16-8-0
Carina "Beauty But The Beast" Damm 15-4-0
Miesha "Takedown" Tate 11-2-0
Maiju "Maki" Kujala 4-2-0
Liz Carmouche 3-0-0
Colleen "The Beautiful Disaster" Schneider 0-2-0



Female MMA - Strikeforce Challengers 10 Results, posted to http://femalemixedmartialartists.blogspot.com/ on August 17th.

Female MMA: Sarah Kaufman Defeats Roxanne Modafferi

In case you missed it, reigning Strikeforce Women's Welterweight Champ Sarah Kaufman beat challenger Roxanne Modafferi at Strikeforce Challengers 9 fight card at the Comcast Arena in Everett, Washington on July 23rd.

Round one was good and both women looked evenly matched but in round two, Roxanne looked like she was starting to slow down.

In round three, Sarah looked like she had been studying Cristiane Santos' playbook, with a KO worthy of the Cyborg.

In case you missed it, FatherOfJoe has all three rounds posted on YouTube and you can see them at his channel here
http://www.youtube.com/user/FatherOfJoe

This win brings Sarah up to an impressive 12-0-0 and sets her up to defend her title against the winner of the August 13th four-women 135-pound tournament at Strikeforce Challengers at the Dodge Theater in Phoenix, Arizona.

As far as the tournament goes, right now it's looking like Hitomi Akano, Maiju Kujala, Miesha Tate and Brazilian veteran Carina Damm in the single night bracket to determine who will face Sarah Kaufman.





Female MMA: Sarah Kaufman Defeats Roxanne Modafferi posted to http://femalemixedmartialartists.blogspot.com/ on August 2nd, 2010

Miesha Tate and Hitomi Akano at Strikeforce Challengers

Miesha Tate

On August 13th at the Dodge Theater in Phoenix, Arizona, female MMA fighters Miesha Tate (9-2-0) and Hitomi Akano (15-7-0) will meet in the first bracket of a four-women 135-pound tournament at Strikeforce Challengers.
Maiju Kujala (4-1-0) is the third woman in the four-women tournament, but as of this entry, the fourth woman has not been decided on.

Miesha was born on August 18, 1986, in Tacoma, Washington, and her last fight was a win over Zoila Frausto (7-1-0) by submission (armbar) at Strikeforce - Challengers 7 on March 26th, 2010.

Hitomi Akano was born on July 27, 1974 in Osaka, Japan, and her last bout was a loss to Hiroko Yamanaka by split decision at Jewels - Seventh Ring on March 19th, 2010.

Maiju Kujala is from Finland, and her last fight was a win over Titiana van Polanen by unanimous decision at UG - Upcoming Glory 7 on March 27th, 2010.

The winner of the tournament will face the winner of the Sarah Kaufman (Champion) versus Roxanne Modafferi fight at Strikeforce Challengers 9 on July 23 in Kent, Washington for the promotion’s 135-pound championship.

Miesha Tate and Hitomi Akano at Strikeforce Challengers, posted to http://femalemixedmartialartists.blogspot.com/ on July 19th, 2010.

Female MMA Results and Upcoming Bouts

Here are some female MMA results for last month....



At Bitetti Combat 6 on February 25th, Amanda "Lioness of the Ring" Nunes defeated Ediane “India” Gomes in the second round via TKO.



At Strikeforce Challengers 6 on February 26, Sarah Kaufman defeated Takayo Hashi becoming the Strikeforce 135-pound women's champion.



At RFC 20 Stacked on February 26, Diana "Dynamite" Rael defeated the debuting Caroline "Rare Ninja" Portugal round two via TKO.



At Jungle Fight 16 on February 27th, Carina "Beauty But The Beast" Damm stopped Aline Serio in the first round with punches from the mount.

Upcoming....

At Reno Xtrene Fights III on March 19th, San Jose’s Jenny Trujillo (1-0) will take on Nicole Johnson (1-1) in a three round Featherweight match

Female MMA: What's next for Cyborg Santos?

Now that the dust has settled over the Carano vs. Cyborg fight, what's next for the newly crowned female MMA champ?
Will she appear on talk shows (with a translator) or start appearing in ads for MMA apparel?
Who knows?
But let's focus on the fighting side of her, which seems to be what Cris "Cyborg" Santos is all about.
Who's next in the Cyborgs sights?

Well I reported awhile back that Erin Toughill (10-2-1) would likely face the winner of the match.
But at Saturdays event, Erin was nowhere to be seen.
There are rumors that Erin and Strikeforce had a "break down in communication" and Erin wasn't there.

But Strikeforce's new acquisition was there, and ready to step in if anything had happened to Carano or Santos.
And that fighter is veteran Marloes Coenen (16-3).
Remember, Santos almost faced her back in February of 2009, but Santos pulled out because she signed with Strikeforce.
Now that would be a match.
The 5'9, 145 pound Marloes might not be bulled around the ring by Santos as easily as Carano was.
Although Marloes has lost to Erin, so would Erin still be the most logical choice?

Another fighter beigin mentioned is Roxanne Modafferi (who has beaten Marloes).
Roxanne is currently 13-4-0.
But Roxanne fights at 135, although that didn't stop her from beating Marloes.

Sarah Kaufman is another name I have heard mentioned.
I think Sarah has a pretty big base of loyal internet fans.
With wins over Miesha Tate and Shayna Baszler she would seem like a good choice.
And she does have a 10-0-0 record right now.
But wouldn't Sarah also have to put on some weight to get in this fight?

Of course there is the possibility of Gina Carano facing her in a rematch.
But I didn't hear Gina's people yelling "Rematch!" after the fight.

And now we come to my "Wildcard" pick.
Lisa Marie Varon.
If you read my blogs, it's no secret I'm a big fan of female wrestling.
Lisa Marie (Victoria in the WWE and Tara in TNA) might be the first female wrestler to follow in the footsteps of her male counterparts like Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley.
She is training for MMA, and could you imagine the hype of an ex-female pro wrestler going after the women's MMA champ?
Of course Lisa needs some checks in her win column before that ever happens.
But remember, Gina Carano only trained in Muay Thai for what, 4 months before her first fight?
Lisa is 5'8, 155 pounds and has about nine years of wrestling training to fall back on.

Female MMA got the hype Saturday, so lets see if the fights they pick can keep the interest going.

Female MMA, Sarah Kaufman, Miesha Tate and Shayna Baszler

Sarah Kaufman raised her undefeated record to 9-0 at ShoMMA with a unanimous decision over Miesha Tate (6-2) in a 135-pound fight.
Both women put on a good fight and were determined to win.
I wonder if Tate had more time to get ready for Kaufman, would the outcome have been any different?
Sarah as you know was a "last minute" substitute for Kim Couture.
But Sarah didn't have any extra prep time either as she just jumped into this fight.

The next fight though will be a different story, as Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has already announced that the winner of this fight (Kaufman) will face Shayna Baszler on June 19th.
"The Queen of Spades" Baszler who is 9-5-0 and Kaufman will both have plenty of time to get ready for each other.

Now I wonder if we can get Strikeforce to extend the rounds to three minutes instead of five?

Sarah Kaufman Versus Miesha Tate Tonight

Here are some articles about tonight's MMA bout between Sarah Kaufman and Miesha Tate....

First, an article from Fanhouse:

Miesha Tate Out to Prove She's More Than Just a Pretty Fighter
Miesha Tate (5-1) went from training for a fight against a well-known, less experienced opponent in Kim Couture (1-1), to a lesser-known, more experienced opponent in Sarah Kaufman (8-0). It was a bitter pill to swallow for the up-and-coming female MMA star, but one that she ultimately realized could benefit her career even more in the long run.

You can read the full article by Ariel Helwani here

Then an article from Sports Illustrated:

Female fighter Tate ready to shine
Here's how close Miesha Tate came to completely missing out on a career as a professional female fighter: It was down to wrestling or basketball. A high-school freshman in Tacoma, Wash., she and her best friend had always played sports together. But in the winter season, their school only offered basketball or boys' wrestling. Tate couldn't play basketball and her best friend was barely 5-feet tall. It wasn't a difficult decision, the way Tate remembers it now.

You can read the full article by Ben Fowlkes here

So for a change, one of the female MMA bouts on a card is generating quite a bit of press.
I think it's kinda safe to say that Miesha is the underdog here.
But underdogs have won before.

Sarah Kaufman faces Miesha Tate at Strikeforce: Challengers

It has been confirmed now that Sarah Kaufman ( 8-0 ) will step in to replace Kim Couture in match with Miesha Tate at the May 15th, Strikeforce: Challengers.
Not a lot of notice for the as of yet undefeated fighter who last fought on April 23, winning by TKO in the second round.
But Sarah stepped right up, and interestingly, her intial offer was made via the forum at mixedmartialarts.com, also known as The Underground.
I wonder if that's a first?

WAMMA Female MMA Rankings For April

The World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts has released its female fighter rankings for the month of May.
The list has a new weight division (115 pound weight class) and a few other changes.
For brevity's sake, I have only listed the top five fighters in each catagory.
You can see the whole list here:
http://gowamma.com/Rankings

Featherweight
1 Gina Carano
2 Marloes Coenen
3 (tie) Cristiane Santos / Erin Toughill
5 Kelly Kobold

Bantamweight
1 Tara LaRosa
2 Takayo Hashi
3 Roxanne Modafferi
4 Shayna Baszler
5 Sarah Kaufman

Super Flyweight
1 Rosi Sexton
2 Carina Damm
3 Rin Nakai
4 Aisling Daly
5 "Windy" Tomomi Sunaba

Flyweight
1 Megumi Fuji
2 Yuka Tsuji
3 Ana Michelle Tavares
4 Lisa Ward
5 Miku Matsumoto

Female MMA: Kaitlin Young

FightHype has an in depth interview with female mixed martial artist Kaitlin Young.
I think Kaitlin has the potential to be just as big as Gina Carano with the right training and backing.
But now that Elite has folded, it's kinda put female fighters like Kaitlyn up in the air.
She was scheduled to fight Sarah Kaufman on November 8th, but with Elite gone, the fight was canceled.
Anyway, here's the link to the interview:
http://fighthype.com/pages/content3756.html