Bellator MMA is making a major commitment to its women’s flyweight division.
The promotion announced the signing of six new fighters to the 125-pound weight class Friday, including former UFC title challenger Valerie Letourneau. MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reported Letourneau was on the verge of signing with Bellator last week.
Also added to the Bellator roster are Ultimate Fighter veteran Kristi Lopez, Alejandra Lara, Sabriye Sengul, Na Liang and Juliana Velasquez. The press release stated that Bellator plans on crowning its first women’s flyweight champion this year, too.
Letourneau (8-6) left the UFC earlier in 2017 after a losing streak in the strawweight division. The Canadian veteran was very vocal about having a brutal weight cut to 115 and the UFC would not commit to adding a 125-pound women’s division.
Letourneau, 33, had previously competed at 135 pounds in the UFC, but felt she was too small for that weight class. She fell to UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk by unanimous decision in a competitive fight in 2015.
The six new names have been added to a division that already includes the likes of Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, Colleen Schneider, Keri Taylor-Melendez and Anastasia Yankova.