Image: Sherdog
Less than a week after Bellator MMA announced six new signings to its women’s flyweight division, the UFC formally announced their own women’s 125-pound division Wednesday and a plan to crown a champion.
Similar to what they did with women’s strawweight in 2014, a season-long tournament on The Ultimate Fighter will be the proving ground for the company’s newest division. No date or location was announced for the finale and title fight, but the season will likely air in the fall given that it’s filming in July.
UFC announced a late-May open tryout for women between 21-34 with a winning record and at least three professional fights. The tryouts are also open to current UFC competitors that can make 125 pounds throughout the season.
This will be the fourth UFC women’s division, joining strawweight, bantamweight and the recently created featherweight.
Of note, the UFC has held a women’s flyweight fight, a one-off between Joanne Calderwood and Valerie Letourneau in June 2016. Coincidentally, Letourneau is one of the new aforementioned Bellator signees.