Women’s Flyweight

First, a run-down of the particulars:
  • A limit of 128 pounds is observed for this list.
  • The inception of the title was the first fight in the division between two undefeated fighters.
  • The linear championship for this weight class has taken a particularly strange journey.  As with almost all divisions, it is arguable where one should start the lineage.  However, after exploring several different pathways at the beginning, the end result (as of 2022) is the same.  Missing divisional info from Tavares’ fights in the early 2000s is an issue in verifying lineage.  Furthermore, there is an alternate path in the mid 2010s where Honchak is cleared from the record after lengthy inactivity, giving Jennifer Maia the title in December 2017, about a week AFTER Honchak would’ve lost it to Murphy.  Not to mention, Honchak also lost in the TUF household just prior in a “pro exhibition”.  If we include Modafferi/LaRosa in 2010 (catchweight bout: 130lb, though Modafferi weighed in at 128), then the lineage takes a completely different route leading to Shevchenko (as of 2022).
  • Recordkeeping and regulations (weight classes) were notoriously bad for Women’s MMA.  As a result, we may update this list if new info presents itself.
Your current lineal Flyweight champion is Tracy Cortez
 
The full history is below. Note, the colored backgrounds indicate a title change.
 
MMA Women’s Flyweight Lineal Championship History
 
Date Champion Outcome Challenger Notes
2002-11-09 Yuka Tsuji WIN Yumiko Sugimoto Inception – Tsuji holds two lineal titles (Strawweight) simultaneously.
2002-12-29 Yuka Tsuji WIN Mari Kaneko
2003-04-02 Yuka Tsuji WIN Tomomi Sunaba
2003-07-13 Ana Michelle Tavares WIN Yuka Tsuji Tavares’s pro debut!
2004-04-01 Ana Michelle Tavares WIN Mayara Carneiro No division info available.
2005-10-21 Ana Michelle Tavares WIN Carina Damm No division info available.
2006-04-06 Ana Michelle Tavares WIN Aderly Madonna No division info available.
2006-11-09 Ana Michelle Tavares WIN Yasmin Tahira No division info available.  Tavares abandons division.
2013-12-07 Barb Honchak WIN Leslie Smith Vacant title. Top contenders fight.
2014-11-01 Barb Honchak WIN Takayo Hashi Due to Honchak’s inactivity after this fight, the path forward is questionable.  See notes above for more commentary.
2017-12-01 Lauren Murphy WIN Barb Honchak
2018-06-01 Sijara Eubanks WIN Lauren Murphy
2018-11-03 Sijara Eubanks WIN Roxanne Modafferi
2021-07-24 Sijara Eubanks WIN Elise Reed
2021-12-18 Melissa Gatto WIN Sijara Eubanks
2022-05-07 Tracy Cortez WIN Melissa Gatto
2023-09-16 Tracy Cortez WIN Jasmine Jasudavicius