The UFC launches the women’s strawweight division with acquisition of 11 Invicta FC fighters

The UFC has acquired the contracts of eleven Invicta FC strawweight fighters and those fighters will compete in The Ultimate Fighter 20, which will crown the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight champion.

Image Courtesy of Invicta FC
Image Courtesy of Invicta FC

UFC President Dana White made the announcement of the acquisition of the Invicta FC fighters during a conference call on Wednesday.

“The women’s 135-pound division in the UFC has been amazing and we know there are a ton of talented women’s mixed martial artists out there,” White said. “Now, you’ll see even more great women’s bouts in the UFC with the addition of the 115-pound division. We’re excited to crown the first-ever UFC women’s strawweight champion in 2014 after a historic season of The Ultimate Fighter.”

The eleven contracts that the UFC has acquired from Invicta FC are Carla Esparza, Claudia Gadelha, Felice Herrig, Joanne Calderwood, Tecia Torres, Rose Namajunas, Bec Hyatt, Emily Kagan, Alex Chambers, Julianna Lima, and Paige Van Zant.

In May, all of them will head to Las Vegas to tape the 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter for the first ever, all women’s TUF. They will be joined by five other fighters on the reality show and the coaches for this season of the reality show have not been determined.