The announcement of TUF tryouts to crown a new female flyweight champion was a bit ‘premature’ and still not official.
Despite Dana White saying that they’re not interested in adding any new weight classes outside of a female 145 lb division, the UFC recently announced that they will be adding female flyweights soon… Or at least that’s what we thought.
According to the original announcement, the promotion is set with TUF 26 to create a 125 lb division and crown a new champion, with tryouts happening later this month. Shortly after the press release made its rounds in the public though, it was revealed that it was just “sent in error.”
UFC officials told MMA Fighting that while The Ultimate Fighter season for flyweights is still under consideration, the announcement was “premature”. Dana White confirmed the same thing with Kevin Iole as well, saying nothing has been finalized just yet.
For the past couple of years, numerous fighters from both 115 lbs and 135 lbs have expressed interest in moving to 125 lbs if or when the UFC created the division. This list of interested parties even included champions such as strawweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk and recently retired bantamweight Miesha Tate.
It may still happen eventually, but these talented females may have to wait a little more before news becomes truly official.