Bellator MMA continues its expansion by picking up fighters who just left the UFC. This time, the promotion run by Scott Coker has strengthen its women’s flyweight division, after reaching an agreement with former UFC strawweight title contender, Valerie Letourneau.
Valerie had expressed several times the necessity of creating a flyweight division (125 pounds) in the UFC due to her difficulties to make weight. Bellator went on the offense and in addition to signing Letourneau, they announced the signing of five more fighters to solidify the division and crown an inaugural champion this year.
With a record 8-6, Letourneau just left the UFC after a losing streak. To her bad moment at 115 pounds, was added the UFC’s refusal to create a women’s flyweight division. Valerie fought as a bantamweight under the UFC, but she always felt too small for the division. She then decided to go down to strawweight -where she even got a title fight against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, but the brutal cut was becoming more difficult every time.
The other five fighters are:
Kristi ‘Loba’ Lopez, who participated in season 23 of The Ultimate Fighter where she was unable to win her first bout against JJ Aldrich. Lopez is 34 years old and holds a professional record of 2-0. Kristi is determined to prove she can be successful in the big leagues.
The young Colombian Alejandra ‘Azul’ Lara, aged 22 and with a professional MMA record of 6-1. Three of those wins by way of KO/TKO, two by submission and only one victory by decision. Her only loss was in 2015 at the hands of fellow Colombian Sabina Mazo (who recently went viral for her impressive head kick at LFA 9).
Sabriye Sengul from Turkey, will be making her professional MMA debut in Bellator. Sabriye is a 28 year-old kickboxer who has won world championships in her sport, and has gained popularity recently for her ongoing participation in the reality show Survivor: Turkey.
The undefeated Chinese sensation Na Liang who has won all six of her professional fights by stoppage in only a few months time. Her debut was in July of 2016 and she has been very active, fighting four times in less than three months in the beginning of her career.
Last but not least, the also undefetead Brazilian Juliana Velasquez who trains at Team Nogueira. Velasquez has fought only as a bantamweight, if she can make the cut to 125 she will be a dangerous threat to any woman in the roster. With a record of 5-0 she expects to earn her sixth victory in her Bellator debut.
Bellator’s flyweight division looks stronger than ever. Let’s not forget the division already has fighters like Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, Colleen Schneider, Keri Taylor-Melendez and Anastasia Yankova. Scott Coker, president of Bellator MMA ws very pleased with the decision his company made this week.
“2017 has been a big year for us in terms of bringing in marquee free agents that can have an immediate impact on their division,” Bellator President Scott Coker said in a statement, as per MMA Junkie. “This group of flyweight signings demonstrates that we’re committed to that throughout our roster as we’re adding even more depth to an already-competitive weight class.”
