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[Cat--Smasher]

UFC Women's 135-Pound Roster at 10, Five More on the Way | MMAWeekly.com

They already have 10 other women under contract, including a TUF 17 Finale match-up between Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano, and two other announced signees: Sara McMann and Alexis Davis.

That leaves four women under contract that the promotion has yet to name.

UFC president Dana White on Friday said that they aren’t stopping at 10 either.

“The 135-pound division is stacked with talent,” he commented. “We already signed 10 girls; we’re signing five more.”

He, of course, didn’t reveal who those “five more” are either, but considering that Invicta FC has a strong working relationship with the UFC, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more fighters from that promotion making the jump to the Octagon.

White still held off on talks of adding any other women’s weight classes, preferring to stay focused on the 135-pounders for right now.

“We put this fight together, this fight is looking really good,” said White.

“Over the next year, what we’re gonna be doing is building this 135-pound division. I’m gonna have 15 new fighters in here that we need to introduce to the world.”

Sarah Kaufman: “I’m on loan from the UFC to Invicta”
Exclusive | Sarah Kaufman: “I’m on loan from the UFC to Invicta” | UFC News MMA News | Mixed Martial Arts | UFC News | BJPenn | MMA Fight | UFC Fights

On April 5, Kaufman makes her debut for the Invicta Fighting Championship against rising star Leslie Smith. She is under contract with ZUFFA but explained to us exclusively on BJPenn.com Radio that she is able to fight for both organizations.

“I don’t know how long [the UFC will allow female fighters to fight for Invicta] and it depends on how the UFC’s women’s division goes but Shannon Knapp has a great relationship with both Dana White and Sean Shelby. I’m on loan from the UFC to Invicta right now,” Kaufman told BJPenn.com Radio.

“ZUFFA has first rights so they can say yes or no [to someone fighting in Invicta] for you but they are giving permission. It’s a great relationship to be able to work for both in case one or the other doesn’t have a fight for you at that time so you don’t have to wait for a fight for too long.”

Before she steps back in the cage, Kaufman will watch her WMMA comrades make history Saturday night in what she believes will be an epic clash. She doesn’t mind that the UFC is putting most of their attention on Rousey but she is also confident that the division will quickly become less about Rousey and more about the depth of talent.

“It’s a huge moment for females in the sport and I do have a little bit of jealousy that I am not in that first spot of course but overall it’s an incredible thing. To go from five years ago to where we are now is amazing. They’re really pushing Ronda Rousey and I want to congratulate Liz Carmouche for getting this opportunity,” Kaufman said.

“The fact that they are also announcing more female fights and signing other fighters is a very positive sign while they go through a trial period to see how the fans react. I’m 100% sure that fans are going to love to see the females fighting in the UFC. We all come to fight and maybe this is bringing out our cattiness but we want to prove everyone wrong and that we do deserve to be here, even though we’ve already proven it more than enough at this point.”

With all of the promotional buildup and marketing being centered on Rousey, some fans are worried on what the aftermath will be if Carmouche upsets her and takes the belt. UFC President Dana White has said on multiple occasions that “this is the Ronda Rousey show” and even though it seems his stance on WMMA has changed, there is a concern that the UFC might remove the division without Rousey as the frontrunner. Kaufman realizes that anything is possible in this sport but doesn’t think fans should worry. Women’s MMA is here to stay regardless of whether Rousey has the gold or not.

“I definitely think there is a possibility that ZUFFA and the UFC will [disband the women’s division if Ronda loses] but I know that Joe Silva and Sean Shelby are super supportive of the females. Dana White has come along too and has noticed that there are all of these talented females all over the world that are ready to fight,” Kaufman said.

“Regardless of the outcome it will be an exciting fight and whether Ronda wins or loses she’s still going to have that publicity behind her and still market her and give her a rematch if she does lose. I believe that we’re still going to be around, no problem.”

[tucker50]

Bad news for anyone hoping this whole WMMA thing goes away after this weekend. I wonder if they are just signing all of Invicta's top 135ers or if they are bringing in some lesser known fighters from outside the US. It is kinda interesting though that the women's division is already bigger than men's 125 and they haven't even had a fight yet.

[dimerules28]

I don't think anyone expected it to go away after this weekend... The ufc has proven they are willing to pour money into something to make it work. I think it's gonna be over time that it will become apparent that overall wmma is just an inferior product to the men. But nobody who has half a brain was actually thinking the ufc would just give up after all this hype for one fight. Dana has been talking mad trash and whether this thing is a success or not he will continue to talk mad trash. That's why he's good at his job.

[Fe1]

It will go away of Ronda loses. UFC has been spending so much time promoting her, no one is going to know anything about anyone else in the division. They're relying on her being the champion to build up WMMA.

[dimerules28]

Originally Posted by Fe1

It will go away of Ronda loses. UFC has been spending so much time promoting her, no one is going to know anything about anyone else in the division. They're relying on her being the champion to build up WMMA.

And realistically, is there anybody else in the women's division that we should care about? I think even if Ronda stays unbeaten, if shes just mowing chicks down effortlessly that's gonna get old too. I just don't see this ending well, no other major sport has been able to blend males and females on the exact same show, I don't see the ufc pulling it off in the long run

[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

Marloes Coenen is the only ace I want to see brought in to fight for the title. I think she's the best challenger outside of Cyborg for Rousey until McMann has a little more seasoning.

[Sniggles]

Originally Posted by Fedorlei Gomipierre

Marloes Coenen is the only ace I want to see brought in to fight for the title. I think she's the best challenger outside of Cyborg for Rousey until McMann has a little more seasoning.

Entirely agree. Coenen/Rousey would be amazing.

Coenen is fighting at 145 in Invicta though.