The Rise of the Women's Flyweight Division at TUF Finale

  Valentina Shevchenko had long appeared to have her foot on the reigns in the women's flyweight division, yet during her latest title defense against Jennifer Maia she found herself facing genuine trouble and giving fans an inside view into how other fighters navigate their division. Roxanne Modafferi returned for this fight, progressing all the way to the finale of "TUF's" inaugural female-focused season in 2017. 1. Valentina Shevchenko Shevchenko has been the undisputed champion in the women's flyweight division and may well be considered the world's premier female fighter. Although Shevchenko was unsuccessful at bantamweight initially, since shifting down she has proven a dominating force in flyweight. She recently successfully defended her title against Lauren Murphy for the sixth time, appearing almost unstoppable in both matches. Additionally, Shevchenko recently defeated veteran Liz Carmouche with an emphatic third round TKO. Additionally, Shevchenko is an IFMA Muay Thai world champion as well as former kickboxing world champion; She and Antonina Shevchenko are both professional MMA fighters. Shevchenko will meet Priscila Cachoeira for an exciting bout at TUF Finale. Both fighters are known for their superior octagon skills and should make for an exciting battle to watch - they were both former Invicta Fighting Championships teammates! 2. Erin Blanchfield The Ultimate Fighter recently used their reality show to introduce a new division and it appears that women's flyweight class is on an upward trend. On Friday's event, it is anticipated that two top contenders in this division will clash for supremacy of this weight class and become its inaugural champions. Blanchfield has made waves since her UFC debut in September 2021, notching impressive wins against Miranda Maverick and Tracy Cortez in her early wins. Now looking forward to meeting Jessica Andrade and continuing her rise up the rankings. Andrade came into this fight after suffering an agonizing loss against Shevchenko, but proved her talents at UFC 283. At that event she quickly took down Blanchfield early in round two using her superior jiu-jitsu skills before subduing her with an impressive rear naked choke submission. Together they should produce an entertaining fight worth watching; with one potentially taking another step towards title contention in near future. 3. Jessica Andrade Andrade remains in contention to claim a shot at the flyweight title despite her hard loss against Blanchfield. She will attempt to rebound against Yan Xiaonan who defeated Mackenzie Dern quickly in her last bout. Andrade has developed her fighting style into one that emphasizes grit, making her ideal to take on Xiaonan as a Sanshou practitioner who has both strike-based tactics as well as using her superior ring generalship and conditioning abilities to take fights through to completion. Although Xiaonan boasts impressive submission skills, she falls below Andrade's former opponents in terms of physical ability. If she wants her hand raised she must keep the fight at range without engaging in exchanges and stay out of grapples altogether. Nicco Montano entered TUF tournament as an underdog, yet she's been an effective force at flyweight so far. In the finals she'll face either Roxanne Modafferi or Sijara Eubanks - either Roxanne has the upper hand at flyweight so far. 4. Montana De La Rosa After Erin Blanchfield's impressive win against Jessica Andrade last year, there was talk that women's flyweight might finally gain some momentum. That hope was swiftly put to an end by Shevchenko's brutal knockout of Maia in November 2020. Montana De La Rosa is quickly emerging as a major force in the new UFC weight class with two consecutive submission wins under her belt, dating back to TUF 26 alum Rachael Ostovich of TUF 26 fame. De La Rosa will take on TUF 26 alumni Rachael Ostovich for this fight which should provide an indication of how far this division has progressed since Nicco Montano missed weight at an extravagant promotional event and was stripped of her title. Emily Whitmire unfortunately suffered an injury during training prior to her fight and needed medical care at UFC Performance Institute before she could return, suffering rib strain which will keep her out for some time before heading into battle versus Rachael Ostovich vs De La Rosa's fight, potentially keeping Emily Whitmire out for several weeks despite all her best efforts! 5. Melinda Fabian Rachael Ostovich had her doubts after losing her initial fight to fan-favorite Paige VanZant, but fought on and eventually appeared on the final episode of TUF 26 as she faced fellow castmate Melinda Fabian. Both women began the match aggressively, with Fabian landing a head kick and several strikes early. Bennett attempted a takedown attempt against Fabian but Big John intervened to stop it. After they separated, Fabian delivered several quick knees before beginning to land head shots; she hesitated before jumping on top though which allowed a wobbly Bennett back on her feet. 6. Roxanne Modafferi After being rejected from The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), Modfferi relocated from Japan to Las Vegas in order to focus on her fighting career and has since alternated wins and losses with K-GRACE, KOTC, Fatal Femmes Fighting, Moosin. Montano defeated Barb Honchak by unanimous decision during her TUF 26 semi-final bout, and her next opponent should have been Sijara Eubanks but she missed weight during an attempt, hospitalized herself during it and was therefore replaced by Montano as their opponent for their final bout. Montano opened with a hard right that staggered Modfferi early, before the pair settled into a clinch along the fence. Modfferi seemed to have control of this exchange until her opponent got caught in a triangle chokehold in the final minute of their duel. 7. Jodie Esquibel After much anticipation, the UFC finally launched a full women's flyweight division this past April. While Valentina Shevchenko may be one of the biggest draws to this weight class, there are numerous experienced fighters ready to make an impression in it as well. Sijara Eubanks prevailed against 16 other fighters to earn her place on this season's TUF Finale. She was scheduled to face Nicco Montano; however, due to weight issues she was forced to cancel their bout and Roxanne Modafferi replaced her as her opponent. Brogan Walker is one of the more experienced fighters competing this year and she is well prepared for her fight with Juliana Miller in which they will vie for one of two female 125-pound slots on UFC Performance Institute roster. Prior to their fights, both women have also visited for training and nutrition advice at this facility. 8. Jessica Bennett Brogan Walker has earned her spot as one of the leading women flyweight fighters on The Ultimate Fighter's season 8 roster with five Invicta FC appearances already under her belt and has proven herself superior to her female opponents on The Ultimate Fighter 8. Juliana Miller is an aggressive competitor who takes her Jiu Jitsu seriously. She never backs down from anyone and is known as an effective finisher - fighting with some of the top fighters like Miranda Maverick in her division. Sijara Eubanks may have had difficulty making weight, but she remains an outstanding fighter. A former Invicta FC title challenger who's made her way into the top eight by fighting well despite some struggles; currently facing Roxanne Modafferi in an intense matchup; Eubanks could make it to semifinals eventually. 9. Jessica Montano At the outset of TUF Season 22, only Shevchenko was an easily recognisable name in the women's flyweight division. Now that the weight class boasts both an established champion and considerable depth, real contenders need to step forward and establish themselves. Brogan Walker and Juliana Miller's fight could mark an important step toward realizing this objective. Both women are veteran competitors with plenty of fight experience under their belts; both have appeared on Invicta cards before; this will provide both competitors with an opportunity to see which has the stronger game inside of an octagon. Sijara Eubanks had initially planned on competing in this final, but due to missing her two-hour weigh-in window she was forced out. Instead, Roxanne Modafferi is set for Montano vs Modafferi in an action packed fight that's sure to showcase Montano's abilities as a top fighter with close, strike, takedowns, and eventually, an unanimous-decision victory from this bout.