Her last fight with Lacey Schuckman was insanely good. She destroyed her. She was really composed and much more aggressive than she's been. According to manager Shu Hirata, the UFC has already noticed the young phenom and offered her a spot in the strawweight division when it was first created. After discussing it with her trainer, Inoue decided to remain with Invicta to gain more experience -- at least for another year.
And while she does see herself as a champion-to-be at the all-female promotion, she's taking each step as it comes. The Torrance, California, native speaks with an intensity one wouldn't expect from someone living in paradise. Truth is, it's hard to imagine she's ever quite still. Van Soest splits her time between Bali, where she trains, teaches muay Thai and volunteers as a martial arts coach at a local orphanage, and California, where she does pre-fight camp.
The former Lion Fight super bantamweight and featherweight transitioned to Muay Thai in her teens after spending most of her childhood practicing karate. From then on, she was nearly unstoppable, amassing a amateur record and going as a pro with nine titles by the age of She even squeezed in a little amateur MMA But as good as her record was, it was difficult to support herself financially.
It's part of the reason she moved to Bali, where the cost of living is lower. Shortly after Invicta FC began courting her, premier kickboxing promotion Glory reached out as well. Faced with choosing between a new challenge and her longtime passion, she opted for both. It made me feel like a true professional athlete. She's already made her Glory premiere, defeating Emma Hasshass by unanimous decision at Glory 30 in May.
Her first pro MMA fight is expected in September. Asked about a timeline for making it to UFC, van Soest said: "I want to make sure I'm ready because those girls are the best in the world.
I don't want to get there just to say I got there. When I get there I'm going to be the champion, so I want to make sure I'm fully ready, that my skills are fully developed to not only compete at that level, but to dominate.
The "Lady of Boxing" started her journey to five championship belts as a quiet year-old in Chico, California. Between the ages of 14 and 18, the flyweight racked up 28 amateur wins and only four losses -- impressive considering how few fights women were getting in the early s. Going pro was easier at first; she took newbies and champs alike, often traveling to Mexico to do so. But the champ learned something along the way that complicated her career trajectory. That match-up has the potential to become the most watched Invicta fight of all time.
Evinger next title defense is expected to be against Colleen Schneider in May. When asked by Sherdog what she would do after winning the Invicta title, she replied, "spank my girlfriend. With 24 fights under her belt Aguilar is a true veteran of the sport. Aguilar has 19 wins to her name, but she lost her last fight - her UFC debut - to top-ranked Claudia Gadelha in August Aguilar, who has stated that being out as gay has never hurt her career, is a pro ambassador for Athlete Ally ; a non profit that provides public awareness campaigns and educational programming designed to foster inclusive sporting communities.
Aguilar is a multi-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion who is currently ranked 13 th in the UFC's strawweight rankings. Many are keen to see if "Jag" can rebound with a win after her first loss in five years.
Ediane "India" Gomes has been fighting professionally since , winning 10 out of 14 professional bouts. The year-old Brazilian is remembered for being involved in one of the most infamous fights in MMA history. Early in her career Gomes defeated a man in the now-defunct Rio Heroes organization which was little more than an underground fight club. A recovering drug addict and former street kid, Gomes last competed in Invicta's pound division.
In an interview with MMA Junkie in Gomes stated that her Brazilian teammates, who are mostly men, have always been respectful of her sexuality. The article also revealed that Gomes had married her longtime girlfriend, whom she had met in the U. In January, Gomes was forced to pull out of a fight at Invicta FC 15, when she was unable to safely make weight. Prior to this Gomes had set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for pre-fight medical costs.
Gomes is a fighter in every sense of the word, but her professional mixed martial arts career may be coming to an end. Souza holds an undefeated record after nine professional fights.
She debuted in March and since then she's finished all but two of her fights via submission. Souza, who has been competing in judo and jiu jitsu since she was 7, defended her title versus DeAnna Bennett on Jan. Instagram seems to be her venue of choice and her account features a bevy of selfies , most of which are tagged with phrases like respect, rastafari, and gblt the Brazilian equivalent of LGBT.
With years before she hits her prime, Souza has the potential to become one of women's MMA's brightest stars. Souza recently stated that she is ready for the UFC, believing there were no women left in Invicta who could challenge her. Entering the fifth round, Holm was up on the scorecards and had done an admirable job of keeping the fight standing. In space, she was able to get the better of the striking exchanges and keep Tate at range.
With two minutes left in the final frame, Tate spun Holm to the floor and stuck to her back like glue as the champion looked to scramble free. As Holm stood, Tate fished her forearm under the neck and maintained control as Holm tried to shake her off. Falling to the canvas, Tate tightened her squeeze and with just 90 seconds remaining in the contest, Holm went out and Tate had completed one of the most improbable come-from-behind victories in UFC history. Nunes entered on a two-fight winning streak and brandishing fight-changing power.
Shevchenko arrived off a short-notice decision win over former Strikeforce champ Sarah Kaufman in her promotional debut. In the early going, Nunes rushed out to a lead, controlling the action with her grappling and putting it on the UFC newcomer. In the third, however, Shevchenko rallied, scoring a takedown of her own early before outworking the tired Brazilian on the feet for the remainder of the frame. While Nunes rightfully took home the close decision win, the feeling on press row was that Shevchenko had all the momentum and things might have been different if this were a five-round fight.
We eventually got to see that play out as Nunes rose to the top of the division and Shevchenko emerged as the No. While their first fight transpired in the shadows, their second encounter had the full attention of the MMA audience and did not disappoint, as the championship headliners turned in one of the best bouts of all-time. Gadelha came out hard and fast, pressing the action against Jedrzejczyk and controlling the opening 10 minutes with intense pressure, strong grappling and sharp boxing.
After the challenger controlled the opening portion of the middle stanza, Jedrzejczyk worked her way out of scrambles and strolled back to the center of the cage with confidence, motioning for her Brazilian rival to meet her on the feet.
It proved to be a clear turning point in the fight as from there out, Jedrzejczyk was in complete control, distancing herself from Gadelha down the stretch en route to a unanimous decision victory and a advantage in head-to-head competition.
Although they opened the main card, Andrade and Hill combined to steal the show during this Super Bowl Saturday event in Houston, Texas, as the strawweight contenders delivered 15 minutes of non-stop action in this classic. These two came out swinging from the start and never let off the throttle, with Andrade constantly pressing forward as she does and Hill refusing to yield as she does , resulting in a wildly entertaining affair that earned the Brazilian a victory and shot at the title and Hill some long overdue recognition as one of the top talents in the division.
In the opening act, the Olympic silver medalist and former title challenger was in complete control. McMann took the fight to the canvas a minute into the first round and kept it there the rest of the way, advancing to a mounted crucifix and dominating the action for nearly three full minutes. In the second, Reneau kept it standing until she stung McMann with a clean right hand that prompted a takedown attempt from her dazed opponent.
Five months later, Namajunas proved she is the genuine article, starting hot like she did the first time around before rallying in the final frame to salt away her first successful title defense. Scores were twice and for Nunes, who successfully defended her pound crown for the second time as she repeated her victory over Shevchenko, which she earned by a close three-round decision.
The two traded kicks in the early going, neither surging into the lead. But as the round progressed, it was the champion who began to take an edge as she stayed busy while keeping Shevchenko on the end of her strikes. Neither fighter was able to pull ahead significantly in the third, a testament to the evenly matched nature of the bout, and while Nunes marched forward, Shevchenko fired back counters, leaving the scoring of the round down to what the judges put more stock in.
The Bahia native looked charged up entering the fourth round for the first time in her career, and she came out fast to start the frame, continuing to work behind kicks to the leg and quick punches upstairs. Midway through the stanza, Shevchenko scored with a nice combination at long range, and she started putting her strikes together effectively as Nunes slowed down.
With the bout possibly up for grabs, both fighters kicked off the final round with a heated exchange which, not surprisingly, was an even one. From there, it was clear that both wanted to finish strong, with Shevchenko being aggressive in her attempt to take the title and Nunes picking her shots and even trying for a takedown in order to keep the belt.
With under two minutes left, Shevchenko tried to turn a Nunes takedown into a throw, but Nunes ended up on her back on the mat. Shevchenko got back to her feet, but it was Nunes going all-in for another takedown, and she got it with less than a minute remaining. Amanda Nunes made history in more ways than one at The Forum in Inglewood. With her stunning second knockout of Cris Cyborg in the co-main event of UFC , Nunes became the first woman to hold UFC titles in two divisions, the third fighter to hold two titles simultaneously and the first fighter to beat her fellow Brazilian in over 13 years.
Sounds like a Hall of Fame resume already, and if there are any doubters, they likely were silenced in the City of Angels. There was no feeling out process in this one, with Cyborg and Nunes getting after it immediately. Jessica Andrade and Claudia Gadelha put on a show in Japan, with the future strawweight champion earning an unanimous decision victory. Andrade threw over strikes in the fight, peppering the ultra tough Gadelha for much of the bout.
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