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The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s women’s bantamweight division has been a wasteland in terms of fan interest for quite a while. Several factors are responsible for that unfortunate reality, most notably the loss of the division’s cash cow.
Love her or hate her, Ronda Rousey was not short on personality. She said what she believed and backed up her trash talk for several years before opponents finally caught up to her. It helped that Rousey was the reason why the UFC opened its doors for women, which also made her a darling of the mainstream media. Given her standing in mixed martial arts circles today, some might be surprised to hear that Rousey’s relatively sudden exit from the sport hurt the popularity of women’s MMA.
As the UFC expanded into different weight classes, new names would appear and establish themselves. Opening those doors was a good thing overall, allowing several women to make new names for themselves. However, in terms of the fate of the bantamweight division, it hurt greatly. The strawweight division opened in the UFC in 2014, but it didn’t really suck away too much talent, with Jessica Andrade being the only name to migrate from 135 to 115 pounds. When flyweight opened in 2017, the bantamweight division became a veritable desert. The likes of Valentina Shevchenko, Katlyn Cerminara, Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, Lauren Murphy and Alexis Davis flooded the 125-pound weight class, gutting any sort of depth the bantamweight division might have had.
Without any real depth, then-bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes was able to rule over two weight classes, reigning over the featherweight division simultaneously after wresting that title from Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino. When other two-division champions attempted to hold two belts, it would create a logjam in one division or the other, sometimes both. That didn’t happen with Nunes. If there wasn’t anyone the UFC believed the fans were going to get behind Nunes defending either of her titles against, the company wasn’t going to force it. To be fair, there was some interest stirred when Nunes was upset by Julianna Pena at UFC 269 in December 2021, but pretty much all that interest was squashed when the Brazilian regained her title in one of the most one-sided beatdowns in UFC championship history in their rematch. The UFC attempted to book a rubber match in the summer of 2023, but no one shed a tear when Pena was forced to withdraw. In fact, many liked the idea of Irene Aldana getting a shot, only for her to lose a lopsided five-round unanimous decision to the champion.
While I mean no disrespect to Nunes, some believed her retirement might benefit the division. Never mind that she had several quick finishes in spectacular fashion, for whatever reason, Nunes was unable to reach anything near the audience Rousey did. Thus, her detractors believed some fresh blood at the top of the division would be good, not unlike how some viewed flyweight after Demetrious Johnson opted to move on from the UFC after losing his title. When Nunes vacated the championship shortly after dispatching Aldana, there was some encouragement the division might be revitalized, and then those who thought so realized any title fight would have to involve Raquel Pennington.
Much like Nunes, I mean no disrespect to Pennington. She was one of the first female graduates of “The Ultimate Fighter” and has earned every accolade that has come her way. However, there were strong indications many were rooting for Mayra Bueno Silva to win the vacant title at UFC 297, given Pennington’s grinding style hasn’t been aesthetically pleasing. Despite Pennington having the longer and more proven track record—not to mention experience in five-round contests—Bueno Silva entered their battle as the favorite. I’m not going to say I haven’t been distracted by the shiny new object at times when picking fights, but the sheer volume of those picking against Pennington when Bueno Silva was as an unproven commodity at that level strongly demonstrated wishful thinking.
Despite the extended time in the doldrums, there’s every opportunity for the division to steal the show at UFC 307 this Saturday in Salt Lake City. Pennington is defending her title against Pena in the co-main event; and while Pennington isn’t particularly known for stealing the show, Pena’s reckless style has brought out the best in several of her opponents. If there’s anyone in the division who can squeeze an extra $50,000 out of Pennington, it’s Pena. Furthermore, two-time Professional Fighters League champion Kayla Harrison already shook the division to its foundations with her Octagon debut at UFC 300, where the two-time Olympic gold medalist shredded Holly Holm to pieces. If she can do the same thing to Ketlen Vieira, it’ll be hard to deny her a title shot, and she might be able to bring more consistent eyeballs from outside the typical forms of media that cover the sport.
Even if Harrison loses, that doesn’t mean the potential excitement within the division dies. Some might argue it boosts it even more, as Vieira upsetting Harrison would put an incredible amount of shine on the Brazilian, just like when Holm became a known quantity when she upended Rousey. Clearly, the scale isn’t on the same level, but it is a comparison most can understand, even if I’d lean towards it being a false argument. Regardless, the UFC should have a clear-cut No. 1 contender after UFC 307, not to mention either a freshly crowned champion or one coming off her first title defense.
The potential for intrigue doesn’t end there, either. Macy Chiasson appears to have hit her stride in the last year, turning in a dominant performance against Pannie Kianzad before splitting open the aforementioned Bueno Silva this summer to make herself a credible name floating around title talks. Speaking of splitting open an opponent, Norma Dumont delivered one of the nastiest cuts in the history of the sport against Aldana last month. Despite having spent most of her UFC career in the now-defunct featherweight division, Dumont has figured out the weight cut to 135 pounds and steadily improved to the point where she has won eight of her last nine contests. Perhaps more impressively, she has done so with several different strategies and increasingly pleasing aesthetics.
I wish I could say there’s a host of prospects ready to signal a changing of the guard for the entirety of the rankings, but that doesn’t appear to be on the way, at least not yet. Regardless, the cupboard isn’t completely barren. Jacqueline Cavalcanti recently won her third straight contest since entering the UFC just over a year ago. She has youth on her side, not to mention plus athleticism.
Before jumping down my throat, I’m not comparing the division to the men’s bantamweight division in terms of depth or excitement. What I am saying is the division has long been the dregs, and any sort of intrigue is an improvement. For a much longer block of time than one would anticipate, the division appeared to be static. There was minimal change in the rankings and minimal new blood being added to the division. There was one point where the division went approximately a year before someone new made a debut at 135 pounds. There is still much work to be done, but there’s something stirring. Plus, while we’ve seen many women already entering the sport who were inspired by Rousey, we should begin to see an even greater influx. After all, we’re approaching the 12-year anniversary of Rousey’s UFC debut. It shouldn’t be too long before those who were inspired as pre-teens are ready to hit the scene.
In the present, there’s a relatively new champion. She may not be a champion that excites the general populace, but it is a new face on the throne. There's a new face in the division most believe will soon ascend to the throne. There are a couple of others who could play the role of spoilers, provided they continue to progress. There are actual options to choose from. It’s enough to add some intrigue to a division that has been sorely lacking it for some time.