DeAnna Bennett entered The Ultimate Fighter 26 as the fourth ranked flyweight on the show. Drafted to team Alvarez, she finished Karine Gevorgyan by TKO within a round on the second episode of the season, before eventually falling to Sijara Eubanks. And if you don’t remember her from those bouts, you might remember her monkeying around in a tree at the TUF house. Literally. DeAnna Bennett, in a tree, making monkey sounds.

Bennett’s energetic and quirky personality shone through on TUF 26, making her one of the more memorable fighters in a season brimming with standouts. Yet after a less than stellar fight at the finale against Melinda Fábián ended in a draw, she was cut from the promotion. It’s safe to say she felt the criticism afterward — but then, admittedly, she’s her own worst critic.

Later this month at Invicta FC 28, Bennett will look to bounce back when she takes on Karina Rodriguez. The card takes place in Salt Lake City — and though born in California, Bennett lives in Utah, which puts this right in her back yard. We spoke Bennett about the upcoming bout, and her time on The Ultimate Fighter 26, among a wide range of topics. And if there’s one takeaway, it’s that just like on the show, DeAnna Bennett is wildly entertaining.

“I’ve actually seen her last couple of fights,” she told us in regards to opponent Rodriguez, adding that “it’s definitely going to be a test to me, because she’s a tough fighter. She pressures, she has slick combinations, real quick hands. Everything you would expect coming out of that Lobo gym there in Mexico, with the partners that she has there.”

Lobo, of course, is home to UFC athletes Alexa Grasso and Irene Aldana. So Bennett certainly has a good idea of the quality of training partners her opponent has. Which has led her to expect “a knockdown, drag out fight honestly.” One the flyweight is anticipating to be both aggressive and entertaining.

Even better, it’s in her “fighting home” in Utah. “It’s like a dream come true. I never thought I would say it, but the last couple years I really missed fighting in Utah. Utah is my fighting home. I’m originally from California, but I started fighting in Utah. That’s my fighting home, that’s where I grew up and had my amateur fights, started my pro career. So the opportunity, that I get to be on this card for Invicta, in my fighting home town, is amazing.”

She told us, in fact, that she’s more excited for this fight than for any she has had in a long time. Yet she may not necessarily hear the crowd once she steps in the cage. “I don’t really hear them too much, I don’t know if that’s selective, or I’ve got too much cauliflower ear built up — these days, I don’t really hear much of anything,” she joked. However, she recounted that in her last fight in Utah, against, Colleen Schneider, “I was super nervous for that fight. I remember getting into the cage, doing my little warm-up thing, and not even trying to look out into the crowd but I kind of looked up, and I saw a table full of my co-workers at the time, some of my teammate’s and everything, and seeing them there, it gave me even more motivation, honestly.” Seeing her supporters there gives her “even more fuel.”

Of course, “every once in a while I hear somebody in the crowd,” she pointed out. “In fact my last fight, with Melinda, I remember, I was against — of course pushing her against the cage, because that’s what I did, ninety percent of the fight, but I was really out of it after that head kick in the first round. It was Maia [Stevenson], actually, she helped me snap back into it. ‘DeAnna, pull your head out of your ass!’ And I was like ‘What?! Maia? Oh, I’m in a fight still! I probably should do something about that!'”

“So sometimes it’s a good thing to hear the crowd,” she finished.

After that grinding affair, Bennett wasn’t quite sure where she stood with the UFC. “I was concerned that they were going to cut me after that. I remember talking to somebody and they’re like ‘no, no, we talked to them, you’re okay.'” It turns out she wasn’t.

“The next thing you know,” Bennett continued, “a couple days later, it was like ‘so you’re gonna be cut.'”

“Obviously it sucks,” she added, but she understands the move. “I wouldn’t say I’m bitter about it, but it definitely tore into my heart a little bit. I don’t blame them, that performance wasn’t my best. I’m my number one worst critic, which is horrible if you think about all the things that got said about that last fight.”

“Somebody tagged me in a Facebook post where it was thirty people just basically calling me fat,” Bennett recalled. “Leave it to the Internet trolls to make me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Thanks Guys!” she laughed.

There were reasons for her performance, including driving across the country to train in New Jersey, but she’s not making any excuses. And she has kept her sense of humor. “I don’t blame the UFC for cutting me after that one, especially, you know, all those ‘boos’ in the crowd — apparently the building was full of ghosts.”

Then there’s those aforementioned Internet trolls. “They’re so mean! I was like ‘guys, I would never say— how dare you! Never in a million years could I ever say the mean things [they do],” she told us. “I remember one of my favorite ones was ‘this bitch needs to lay off the cheeseburgers.’ And I’m like ‘I’m lactose intolerant and gluten intolerant, I couldn’t even have a cheeseburger if I wanted to!'”

Bennett doesn’t let it get to her, however, which isn’t surprising given her demeanor. “Most of the time it doesn’t bother me too much,” she said, before admitting that “it cut a little bit, the combination of that and getting cut and everything, but for the most part it’s fine. Like I said, I probably say worse things about myself.”

On the move back to Invicta, where DeAnna Bennett fought from 2014 to 2017, the fighter said that “I’ve always loved being part of Invicta in the past, and fighting for them. The fact that they scooped me right up, the day I got the call that I was released from the UFC, I talked to Shannon that day. That’s just how great they are.”

“I’m excited,” she continued. “I’ve been training hard and getting weirder by the day. So we have some fun conversations with the Invicta staff and they’re probably like ‘hmm, about that, I don’t know what she’s going to bring…'”

On just how exactly she’s so weird, she offered in way of example the pre-fight video packages pretty much every promotion produces. “Basically you’re on there for like two minutes. Mine takes like twenty minutes,” she explained. “Because I get off topic, I start talking about other things, I say inappropriate things that they can’t use, I talk with my hands. I don’t even know how we got there at one point, we were talking about something and the poor the guy doing the interview was horrified, because bacon covered penises came up, and somehow our conversation went to that.”

In case it wasn’t clear, “you never know what’s going to pop out of my crazy mouth!”

As talk turned to her experience on The Ultimate Fighter 26, Bennett made it clear that she wouldn’t trade it for the world. “If they didn’t kick me out the last day, I never would have left,” she said. “It was the best. All I’ve ever wanted to do is fight. That’s my passion. That’s what I love to do. So the fact that I got to live in a mansion — granted it was like white collar prison, because you couldn’t leave anywhere, like yeah it’s a mansion, but they trap you in and you can’t go anywhere, so Martha Stewart experience kind of prison — but it was great, getting top of the line training. Opening my eyes to different methods. And you have all these girls from different camps all across the the world. The opportunity to train with the best out there was awesome. It’s definitely not an experience I would take back.”

“It was a good time for personal reflection too, because we couldn’t listen to music,” she told us. That’s because the production didn’t have licenses for the songs. It was to the point that Bennett was even told not to sing aloud. “So I had a lot of internal talks with myself.”

“I met some really awesome people on the show. If they ever did a female Redemption season, they can call me up, because I will gladly do it” she concluded.

Bennett has fought some of the best names in the weight class (and outside it). Roxanne Modafferi. Julianna Pena. Jennifer Maia. Those experiences help drive her. “Just seeing where some of the people that I’ve fought have gone is great.”

“I know that I can get up there to the top again. Things kind of hit a little rough patch there for a second,” she said, “but you have to take everything from each fight. Win or lose, every fight is a learning experience for the next one.” That knowledge is why “I’m really excited for this one coming up in a few weeks. I’ve had a lot of time for reflection, I’ve had a lot of hard hours in the gym, and it’s going to be a good performance. I can feel it.”

Despite her confidence, Bennett isn’t about to make a prediction. Other than “I’m going to get my hand raised in the end. And not like last time when both of our hands got raised. Because I’m like ‘Yay my hand gets raised! Oh wait hers did too. Oh crap,'” she said with a laugh.

She added that she’s been working hard and hopes to silence some of the trolls who were unduly harsh on her. Not that she’s doing it for them. We suggested she visualize the trolls when working the heavy bag; Bennett was all in for that, but “definitely not when I’m with my training partners, who are like ‘why are you trying to kill me?!?’ ‘This person called me fat!!'” Actually it wasn’t just this person, it was like millions of people,” she joked.

Bennett has a way of finding the funny side of just about anything. “I’d almost rather you tell me my fighting skills suck. You went for the low blow on that one,” she continued. “I thought I was just trying to market myself as the female Big Country, but apparently there’s not a niche for a female Big Country. So I decided to not shave my hair into a mullet, and we’re working on the gut. We will get there.”

The Big Country comment, she explained, “came because Barb Honchak has the perfect abs. Always. She’s just like ‘well yeah but then I re-hydrate and then it kind of puffs out’ and I’m like ‘yeah but you still have abs though, it’s just like Chuck Liddell abs. Yeah it puffs out a little bit but you still have abs. You have Chuck Liddell abs, I have Big Country abs.’ She’s the Chuck Liddell to my Big Country.”

Looking forward to the rest of the year, Bennett told us that “I’m there in Invicta, the belt for Invicta is vacant. I’m not looking past this fight, you’ve got to take one fight at a time.” Yet having said that, “I’m going to go win this one, put on a good performance, go for the next one. If they happen to give me a shot at the belt next, that’d be great. Something to cover up those Big Country abs I’ve been working on.”

Catch DeAnna Bennett take on Karina Rodriguez at Invicta FC 28, March 24 at the Union Event Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The card airs exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.

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Following Wednesday’s final episode of The Ultimate Fighter Season 26, the UFC has revealed the full card for Friday’s TUF 26 finale. Not surprisingly, in addition to the main event of Sijara Eubanks vs. Nicco Montano, top seeds Roxanne Modafferi and Barb Honchak are also on the card. They’ll face off just prior to the co-main event, in a fight many expected would have been for the UFC’s flyweight title.

Coming into the show, Modafferi (21–13) had won two straight, including a big finish of Sarah D’Alelio at Invicta FC 23. Prior to that, she’d gone up against Jennifer Maia for Invicta’s 125lb title. Maia, who will defend her belt next month, is considered by many to be the top flyweight in the world at present.

Honchak (10–2), meanwhile, is a former Invicta champion away from the sport several years prior to joining TUF 26. She holds notable wins over Nina Ansaroff, Vanessa Porta, Aisling Daly, and Modafferi. The pair first met in 2011, where Honchak submitted ‘The Happy Warrior’ via rear-naked choke.

Both Honchak and Modafferi won their first two bouts on The Ultimate Fighter 26 before being upset in the semi-finals.

Also added to Friday’s card is Hawaiian standout Rachael Ostovich-Berdon (3-3), who went 1-1 on TUF 26. She’ll take on Karine Gevorgyan (3-2), who was billed as Armenia’s only female fighter on the show.

Montana Stewart (7-4), who was married after the show completed filming and now goes by Montana De La Rosa, will take on Christina Marks (8-8) at the finale. DeAnna Bennet (6-3) meets Melinda Fabian (4-3-1), while Ariel Beck (4-4) faces Shana Dobson (2-1).

Opening the TUF 26 Finale card on UFC Fight Pass, Canada’s Gillian Robertson (3-2) meets Emily Whitmore (2-1).

Lauren Murphy Off the Card

A proposed bout featuring Lauren Murphy against Priscila Cachoeira, unfortunately, is off the card. A recent, undefeated UFC signing who did not appear on the show, that fight should have brought fireworks. Per a statement on Instagram by Murphy, Cachoeira had some VISA issues, however. The fight will be rebooked early next year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcG7_tdHfxy7X_GSF2sreaZgNJHRbaw57L-6780/

The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale takes place at the Park Theater in Paradise, NV (just outside Las Vegas) on Friday, December 1.

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The Ultimate Fighter 26 is the second season of TUF to help launch a division, following TUF 20 (a springboard for women’s strawweights). The season has been the best in recent years for the reality show. Gone have been hair-brained antics, drama, and coaches butting heads. Instead, two professionals (Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje) showed up to lead a group of professional female fighters, pretty much all of whom conducted themselves like the pros they are. As they should, with a belt on the line, but when it comes to TUF, sanity is often scarce.

Even without the drama (which was not missed it the least), it made for compelling TV. The fights were good, a belt was on the line, and we saw what mattered. The biggest feud came when Lauren Murphy found herself at odds with coach Eddie Alvarez. For that to be the biggest drama to come from the season was a breath of fresh air. A dispute with a coach is understandable. Nor did it derail the season.

Roxanne Modafferi and Barb Honchak were ranked 1 and 2 overall for the season, respectively, and not surprisingly, both made it to the semi-finals. However, with Honchak eliminated by Nicco Montaño in last week’s episode, it was ‘The Happy Warrior’ representing the “old guard” in TUF 26. Then, another upset: in the final episode of the season, airing Wednesday night, Sijara Eubanks earned a unanimous decision win over Modafferi in a hard fought bout that saw both women looking to finish the other.

And there you have it: Friday’s Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale will be headlined by relative unknowns Nicco Montaño and Sijara Eubanks, with the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight championship on the line. The division feels as if it’s wide open at the moment, and a number of contenders are likely to emerge, both from this season of TUF (don’t count Honchak and Modafferi out just yet), and from other weight classes.

Montano (3-2) is coming off a loss prior to TUF 26 to Julia Avila, and has spent most of her career under the KOTC banner. Eubanks (2-2), meanwhile, is also coming off a loss outside the show, to Aspen Ladd in Invicta.

The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale goes down live Friday December 1 at the Park Theater in Las Vegas, NV.

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During the UFC 217 broadcast Saturday night, Paige VanZant decided to shake things up a little. Posting to her official Twitter account, “12 Guage” stated that her next fight would come against the winner of TUF 26. That’s the current season of The Ultimate Fighter, which will crown the UFC’s inaugural women’s flyweight champion at year’s end.

My next fight is against the winner of the 125 division Ultimate Fighter. Don’t blink.

— Paige VanZant (@paigevanzant) November 5, 2017

For obvious reasons, the post got the MMA community talking. VanZant has not fought in nearly a year, when she was submitted by Michelle Waterson in the main event of UFC on FOX 22. She has also never competed at flyweight, though making the 125lb limit should be no issue for the strawweight fighter. Paige was booked into a flyweight contest against Jessica Eye at UFC 216 in October, but was forced out due to a number of health issues.

However, her profile, and the UFC’s history of dubious title shots (Chael Sonnen vs. Jon Jones and Nick Diaz vs. Georges St. Pierre come to mind), made it seem like a possibility.

Following Saturday’s big event at Madison Square Garden, however, UFC President Dana White put the idea to rest. Speaking to the assembled media at the post-fight press conference, White was asked about Paige VanZant’s claim.

His response?

“That’s not true. Not that I’m aware of.” The UFC head then added “I love Paige and everything, but that’s not true.”

Unless someone else at WME-IMG (or Endeavour, as it’s now called) or within the UFC has been making offers, then it seems like VanZant’s quest for gold will have to wait. In the meantime, the winner of TUF 26 will be crowned December 1 at the Park Theater in Las Vegas.

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First and foremost: in episode one, we got right to the point. Gone was the drawn-out, two hour premier. Thankfully so: over the next few weeks, we’re going to get to know these fighters anyway. Two hours to them auditioning to get into the house would have been too much.

Fifty or so fighters tried out. Sixteen made it. We’ve known who for a while now, but it was still interesting to get a wee bit of backstory. A fighter from overseas selling her car to make it to the audition? An American flyweight buying a one-way ticket as motivation? Roxanne Modafferi getting props from Dana for upping her game? These little mini-stories worked.

Dana White next appeared via video link to remind the fighters that they were on the show to win the title. Then it was on to the selection of teams, and picking the first fight, set up as usual by a coin toss. Eddie Alvarez won the toss, and picked the first fighter: Barb Honchak. Not a bad pick, even if she’s been inactive for a while. Justin Gaethje, as a result, got to pick the first fight, and for his first fighter chose Modafferi. As fighters were chosen, their seed for the tournament was announced — that’s right, opponents were predetermined based on the seeding. That meant that choosing the first fight literally just meant choosing which two fighters went first. Roxy, it turns out, was seeded first overall. She was matched up with Shana Dobson, the 16th seed, 2-1 as a pro.

Ultimately, Gaethje decided that Modafferi would fight first.

We then got the usual scenes of the cast exploring the TUF house, followed by some training snippets. Coach Alvarez opted to focus on Dobson’s standup, figuring that Modafferi has been training far too long for him to be able to teach Dobson to survive her ground game. Over on Team Gaethje, the coaches were focused on keeping Modafferi positive (which shouldn’t be too difficult a task with someone named “The Happy Warrior”).

In what seemed like the quickest episode in Ultimate Fighter history (and that’s not a bad thing!), the fight was then upon us. Ultimately, while Dobson showed some promise on the feet, Modafferi was able to get her to the ground and unleash an unholy fury of elbows the mounted fighter could not escape from. Modafferi by TKO, and a statement was made: new Roxy is still adorably nerdy, but she’s more dangerous than ever before.

Maybe it was the wise decision to cut down on the episode length. Maybe it was the complete lack of drama in episode one. Maybe TUF just gets better when a belt is being introduced (TUF 20, which introduced the women’s strawweights, was a standout season). Regardless of reason, it was a strong start for a show desperately in need of a boost.

The only negative? The preview for the rest of the season unveiled a whole lot of drama to come. Hopefully it won’t be as trite and manufactured as some previous years. Come on UFC, you’ve learned your lesson right?

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Topping the list are fighters like Roxanne Modafferi, Barb Honchak, and Lauren Murphy. Modafferi (21–13) fought for the Invicta FC flyweight title last year, and will enter TUF 26 coming off a superb win against Sarah D’Alelio at Invicta FC 23. “The Happy Warrior” is a veteran of The Ultimate Fighter 18, during which she competed at bantamweight. The trailblazer of the women’s side of the sport has been on a tear since then, however, winning six of her eight fights since the TUF 18 finale.

Honchak (10–2) is considered one of the greatest women’s flyweights, but has not fought since a November, 2014 win against Takayo Hashi. Among the notable names Honchak has defeated are Aisling Daly, Felice Herrig, Roxanne Modafferi, Leslie Smith, and Vanessa Porto. Whether cage rust will be a factor is a serious question for the thirty-seven year old Honchak.

For Lauren Murphy, who has spent her UFC career to date at bantamweight, TUF 26 represents a second chance after mixed results in her original UFC run. Murphy has gone 1-3 in her UFC run to date, but has faced stiff competition against names like Sara McMann and Liz Carmouche, who have both challenged for the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

The complete cast of The Ultimate Fighter 26 is as follows:

Ariel Beck
DeAnna Bennett
Shana Dobson
Sijara Eubanks
Melinda Fabian
Karine Gevorgyan
Barb Honchak
Christina Marks
Roxanne Modafferi
Nicco Montano
Lauren Murphy
Rachael Ostovich-Berdon
Gillian Robertson
Maia Stevenson
Montana Stewart
Emily Whitmire

The show, coached by lightweights Justin Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez, debuts August 30. The finale will air December 1, when the inaugural women’s flyweight champion will be crowned.

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Gaethje (18-0), the former WSOF lightweight champion, made a huge splash in his UFC debut, beating Michael Johnson within two rounds in a Fight of the Year contender that saw both fighters rocked multiple times. That earned Gaethje double bonuses, with both Fight of the Night and a Performance of the Night bonus. It also made him into an overnight sensation with those not familiar with his fight style during his WSOF run.

Eddie Alvarez (28–5 (1)), the former UFC lightweight champion, made his return to action at UFC 211, but wound up with a No Contest due to illegal knees against opponent Dustin Poirier. Prior to that, he was knocked out in the second round of his title defense against Conor McGregor at UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden last November.

The idea of a fight between Alvarez and Gaethje is tantalizing, as it pits a couple of former underground favorites against one another. Alvarez is a former Bellator champ who was successful in his jump to the UFC, and Gaethje is looking to follow in his footsteps after ten wins in the WSOF. Styles make fights, and both men like to go toe-to-toe. This could be killer.

The only down side is that it’s going to keep them out of action for a while as the show airs. Per White, filming began just this week on TUF 26.

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Following his loss to promotional newcomer Justin Gaethje last weekend, in what is inarguably the Fight of the Year in the UFC, and MMA in general, thus far, Michael Johnson has won just one of his last five fights. Given the promotion’s willingness to lose contenders, Johnson needs to turn things around sooner rather than later, and can in the loaded lightweight division.

Johnson was on the longest winning streak of his career heading into his bout with Beneil Dariush in August of 2015, and hasn’t been able to fully recover since the heavily-disputed split decision loss. After Dariush, Johnson was dealt Nate Diaz in December of 2015. Coming off of a year-long layoff and fighting for the third time in three years, Diaz was reinvigorated and outclassed Johnson in a unanimous decision.

Johnson fought three times in 2015, and after back-to-back losses, took some time off and returned to the Octagon in September of 2016. That return came against the red-hot Dustin Poirier, who was on a four-fight win streak since his return to lightweight in April of 2015. Johnson put an end to that streak in emphatic fashion, knocking out Poirier 95 seconds into the main event fight.

A return to winning form was welcome for Johnson, but relatively short-lived. Two months later he was battling the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden. Although he caught Nurmagomedov a few times and had the Russian rocked, Johnson wasn’t able to capitalize. Nurmagomedov’s wrestling would go on to take control, and he was able keep his record clean with a third-round submission win over Johnson.

That brings us to last weekend. Obviously not afraid of a difficult opponent, Johnson accepted the challenge of welcoming former World Series of Fighting lightweight champion Justin Gaethje to the UFC. In the main event of The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption Finale, Johnson and Gaethje put on an incredible show. Both fighters gave everything they had, rocking each other multiple times, and saving what had been a mostly mediocre event. While it earned Johnson his third performance bonus in four fights, it wasn’t enough to win, as Gaethje scored the TKO with 12 seconds remaining in the second round.

A UFC veteran and contender in the 12th season of The Ultimate Fighter, Johnson has fought some of the best 155-pounders the promotion has had to offer dating back to 2010. While he’s had his ups and downs, “The Menace” has never been able to secure the crucial win that would propel him into title contention. Right now, that doesn’t matter. Under new ownership, the UFC is willing to part with many fighters, and without a win in the near future, Johnson could find himself on the free agent market.

That’s not the worst place to be in MMA nowadays, but it’s likely that Johnson would prefer to stay in the sport’s premier promotion. Although, it would be interesting to see what he could get from other promotions, after his $47k payday was revealed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission following The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Finale.

The loss dropped Johnson from number five to number nine in the somewhat-but-not-really-meaningful official UFC fighter rankings at 155-pounds. He’s not in a situation like Travis Browne, but one more like Chris Weidman. Johnson’s recent run features a few tough fights, with good moments, and bad finishes. Fighting is about winning, and while he hasn’t looked bad, Johnson needs a win.

In the lightweight division, wins aren’t easy to come by, and regardless of who Johnson faces next, his UFC fate may be on the line. So, who could Johnson face next? Removing fighters he’s fought relatively recently, Johnson has a few routes to turn this runaround.

He’s already fought five of the nine fighters ahead of him in the rankings since 2015, leaving Tony Ferguson, Eddie Alvarez, Kevin Lee, and champion Conor McGregor as available options. Of those fighters, McGregor is busy boxing, and while a rematch with Ferguson would be interesting following Johnson’s victory in 2012, “El Cucuy” seems focused on other options. Alvarez and Lee (and Gaethje) have all been linked with coaching positions on The Ultimate Fighter 26, signaling that the UFC is looking in another direction than pairing either with Johnson in the near future. In fact, it looks like Alvarez and Gaethje might be getting the nod for that:

Dana White tells me it's confirmed: Justin Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez are TUF 26 coaches. Shot first episode already.

— Luke Thomas🏋️‍♀️ (@lthomasnews) July 13, 2017

Behind Johnson in the rankings, there are tough tests in Michael Chiesa, Al Iaquinta, and former 155-pound champion Anthony Pettis. All would provide different problems for Johnson, and count as quality wins in the stacked lightweight division. Depending on who’s available, and willing, Johnson should have options for his next step in getting his career back on track.

Even if it’s a fighter outside of the UFC’s top-15 rankings, something that would be a change of pace for Johnson, the Missouri-native needs to make sure he wins. Quality performances only go so far without the wins to back them up, and without a return to form, Johnson could find himself outside the sport’s premier promotion for the first time since 2010. It’ll be interesting to see who he gets in his next bout, which may be the most important of Johnson’s career.

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According to a release, the season will be open to fighters currently on the UFC roster capable of making the flyweight limit, as well as new fighters looking to enter the promotion.

Flyweights between 21 and 34 with winning records and at least three professional fights are being sought.

No word on who the coaches for the new season will be. However, a new champion will be crowned at the end of the season, much like The Ultimate Fighter 20 saw the crowning of the women’s strawweight champion.

An open casting call is scheduled for Tuesday May 23 in Las Vegas.

Thus far, the only flyweight fight in the division was the aforementioned Ottawa fight, which featured Joanne Calderwood getting the win over Valerie Letourneau. The latter recently signed with Bellator MMA, who have been growing their flyweight division for some time now.

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