PC: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Women’s Divisions:
Tatiana Suarez
Age: 30 | United States | 8-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC
Tatiana Suarez could down as the best fighter to never capture UFC gold. Despite dominating virtually every opponent she has ever faced Suarez’s toughest opponent has been her own body. Prior to making the switch into MMA, she competed internationally in wrestling capturing two bronze medals at the 2008 and 2010 world championships. A few years later she transitioned into MMA going 3-0 regionally before competing on ‘The Ultimate Fighter Season 23’ winning the show with three consecutive victories. She rattled off five victories between her debut in July of 2016 and June of 2019 becoming one of the top contenders for the strawweight title. In her last two performances she defeated former champion Carla Esparza and Top 5 strawweight Nina Ansaroff in dominant fashion. She has been battling with a neck injury ever since and has yet to return to the cage. If Suarez successfully returns from her injury, she would be one of the biggest threats to current champion Weili Zhang.
Notable Victories: Carla Esparza, Nina Ansaroff, Alexa Grasso
Melissa Gatto
Age: 25 | Brazil | 6-0-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC
Of the names on this list, Melissa Gatto may be the least recognizable by the North American audience. All of her fights took place on the Brazil regional circuit, and primarily for Cris Cyborg’s MMA promotion Nação Cyborg. Like most Brazilian fighters, Gatto is very dangerous on the mat and his elite jiujitsu. She has been competing since 2016, when she was just 20 years old. She competed eight times in the following 24-months picking up six victories and two draws. Her last fight took place in September of 2018 where she submitted UFC Bantamweight Karol Rosa in the first round. Rosa has since been signed by the UFC and picked up two victories. Gatto hasn’t competed since due to injuries forcing her out of two contests. She was recently scheduled to face Mariya Agapova back in June but travel restrictions have prevented her from getting out of Brazil. Due to the nature of travel restrictions throughout Brazil, it is unknown when we will see the 24-year-old make her UFC debut.
Notable Victories: Karol Rosa
Casey O’Neill
Age: 23 | Scotland | 5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC
Casey O’Neill has been a fighter that I’ve been high on for quite some time. The well-travelled O’Neill is just 23 years of age and has quickly established herself as a potential future champion by many. She has trained at the world-renowned Tiger Muay Thai which has bred the likes of Valentina Shevchenko, Petr Yan and Rafael Fiziev. Her success didn’t come easy, and her amateur career began with a pair of losses at 16 and 17 years old. She quickly bounced back stringing together 5-straight victories as an amateur before going pro in 2019. She earned five victories between April of 2019 and September of 2020 which included a win over Greece’s Christina Stelliou for UAE Warriors which earned her a UFC contract. O’Neill will be the second Scottish female fighter in the UFC after Joanne Calderwood and will make her debut on February 20 against Shana Dobson.
Notable Victories: Christina Stelliou
Bea Malecki
Age: 29 | Sweden | 2-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC
Bea Malecki is one of only a few fighters in the modern era to have had their MMA debut in the UFC. CM Punk, Mike Jackson and Amir Sadollah are the others to have done the same. Malecki is no stranger to martial arts and was a European Champion in Muay Thai before transitioning into MMA. After losing to Leah Letson in an exhibition match on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, the Swede made her MMA debut in June of 2019 against Duda Santana. She managed to finish the Brazilian in the second round capturing her first pro win and her first UFC victory. She returned nine months later against Veronica Macedo winning a decision. Malecki will put her undefeated record on the line when she faces Norma Dumont on April 10.
Notable Victories: Veronica Macedo, Duda Santana
Danyelle Wolf
Age: 37 | United States | 1-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC
Wolf is on this list because of the lack of talent in the 145lb female division. She had a lot of credentials outside of the sport and will likely hold her own inside the UFC against some competition in the division. However, if she was a bantamweight or flyweight it is unlikely, she would have been signed following her performance on the Contender Series. Wolf made her debut on Season Four of the Contender Series in September earning a unanimous decision victory over Taneisha Tennant. Prior to that performance she had previously won three US National Championships in boxing between 2013 and 2015. She was also a 2014 Golden Gloves Champion. Wolf also competed in the 2020 Olympic trials for boxing and was eliminated which ultimately led her to pursue MMA.
Notable Victories: Taneisha Tennant
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