Wombat Sports is continuing its efforts to profile some of those fighters under the age of 18 that will be the future of combat sports; be it MMA, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

If you have a fighter under 18 you want to be featured comment below.

You can read all the “Future Stars” we have featured so far here.

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A prodigy in Muay Thai, 10 year old Summer Bronco currently has a 10-1 record as a fighter. Training out of the Hybrid Training Center in Virginia Beach, VA, Bronco has set her sights training in Thailand.

A documentary about her fighting is being planned as she plans on training with some of the best junior Muay Thai fighters in Canada.

We talked to Bronco about her training and her future in the sport.

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Wombat Sports: What got you interested in getting involved in combat sports?

Summer Bronco: My friends where doing Karate and I wanted to do something like that so I choose Muay Thai.

Wombat: What do you enjoy about it?

Bronco: I like going in the ring and competing with other girls. I like to train pad work with my teammates and coach.

W.S.: How has your friends and classmates reacted to it?

S.B.: They thought it was really cool that I do a sport like this and thought it was impossible that a girl is so sweet can be a fighter.

W.S.: How about your family?

S.B.: They are behind be in whatever I do, my dad helps me a lot and takes all the trips with me.

W.S.: Who do you look up to in fighting?

S.B.: I look up to Monique Scriberras, a junior fighter with autism. She inspires me to accomplish my goals and dreams. I like to watch Buakaw Banchamek fight, I really like watching his ring entrance and how he scares the other fighters before the fight even starts.

W.S.: How do you feel about the future of females in fighting?

S.B.: I think its exciting to watch girls fight in the UFC for the first time. I think the young girls that are already fighting at age 8 and 9 will be very good by the time we are all adults.

W.S.: What comes naturally to you in fighting?

S.B.: I remember my first lesson when I was 6 years old it all came very easy to me and I liked it a lot.

W.S.: What have you found difficult?

S.B.: There are not a lot of girls my age that fight and it can be hard to find opponents to fight. I train all year-long 6 days a week and only fight a few times a year.

W.S.: How has it been having cameras follow you for this documentary?

S.B.: Its been ok, sometimes it bothers me. Having a camera in your face all day can upset me sometimes. But I do like the camera guys and what they are trying to do. The movie is called FINDING_SIAM….. and it’s just about My Journey through Muay Thai

W.S.: You are planning on taking some training trips in the next few years, tell us about it.

S.B.: I am next year, in April of 2014 I am going to TORONTO. Im am going to one of the best junior Muay Thai Gyms there is. I will be training at Redemption Muay Thai with my friend Kiauna Safranko. I am also hoping to go back to Sitan gym in Arizona and train with Thiago Azeredo.

W.S.: Have you had the opportunity to train in Thailand? If not what are you expecting if you do train and fight there?

S.B.: I have not been to Thailand before. I expect that the girls would be very challenging and very experienced. I think I can compete with anyone my age where ever they are from.

W.S.: What are your aspirations in fighting?

S.B.: I would like to be a Professional Muay Thai fighter and compete in Thailand with the best in the world.

W.S.: Anything you want to add/thank?

S.B.: I want to thank my parents and my camera person. I also want to thank my teammates and coaches at Hybrid Training Center. Thanks to Raound Customs for providing me with all my fight gear!
I want to thank all the young girls that get in the ring and fight, you all ROCK!

Waterson

Waterson vs. Penne

After giving away their first 3 awards Thursday, the WMMA Press Association has handed out three more awards Friday.

Fight of the Year went to Michelle Waterson and Jessica Penne for their battle at InvictaFC 5 in April 2013. In the match, Waterson would get the armbar in the 4th round to win the InvictaFC atomweight title.

You can watch the match here.

The battle also helped Waterson win the Atomweight of the Year Award. Waterson has had a nearly seven year career in MMA and has a record 11-3. She has won her past 5 fights with four finishes and three submissions.

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Namajunas vs. Catron

Submission of the Year also came at InvictaFC 5 with an amazing 12 second flying armbar by Rose Namajunas over Kathina Catron. The armbar is one of the fastest in the women’s divisions history and marked her second win as a professional. It gained national exposure in the general MMA media, and is on many other award’s best submission list going against some of the guys.

You can watch the video here.

Namajunas is currently signed to be a part of the Ultimate Figher 20.

You can listen to Waterson and Namajunas accept their awards here.

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The winners of the Fan Favorite Voting, Promotion of the Year, and Sponsor of the Year can be seen here.

On Saturday’s podcast, we will give out the Inspirational Fighter and Legacy Awards at 1 p.m. pst/4 p.m. est. You can listen here.

Monday, the ProWMMANow podcast will be handing out the awards for Knockout and Newcomer of the Year at 7 p.m. pst/10 p.m. est. You can listen here.

Wednesday the rest of the awards – Fighter, featherweight, bantamweight, flyweight, strawweight, and amateur fighter of the year winners will be handed out on on the Promoting Real Women podcast. You can listen here.

Happy to New Years to our readers. Thanks for your support in 2013 and we hope to give you more content and get you to know more fighters in 2014.

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Miscellaneous News

The WMMA Press Awards are continuing to be given out with the Legacy and Inspirational Fighter Awards being handed out on a special edition of the Wombat Sports podcast Saturday at 1 p.m. pst/4 p.m. pst.

You can read the announced winners here.

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Daly vs. Benitez Courtesy Cage Warriors

The last few matches of 2013 happened New Years Eve in Dublin with the Irish fighters taking a sweep in three different divisions at Cage Warriors.

In the only bout on the main card, Ais “The Bash” Daly made a successful debut as a strawweight as she defeated Karla Benitez. Daly (14-5) looked like a new fighter, gaining control of Benitez on the ground. After being warned for holding the cage and executing an illegal vertical elbow, Benitez was deducted two points by the referee in round 1.

Daly got the takedown and kept control on the ground in round 2 and got the armbar at 4:26 to win the last female fight of the year. Daly snaps a three fight losing streak.

Costigan (white) vs. Delagnau (black) courtesy Cage Warriors

In other action on the card, Catherine Costigan (3-0) continues her undefeated streak as she gets the tap over France’s Morgane Delagnau. Delagnau was no pushover, taking Costigan to the third round for the first time in Irish woman’s career. Costigan would show her experience ground work and sink in the rear-naked choke at 2:22 of round 3. This is Costigan’s third submission win as a pro.

In a flyweight contest, Amanda English wins her pro debut, getting the unanimous decision over Italy’s Slavka Vitaly. This is Vitaly first loss in MMA.

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Courtesy UFC

UFC champion Ronda Rousey banked the biggest salary in women’s MMA history with her win over Miesha Tate. The champ got $100,000 to enter the Octagon at UFC 168, plus a win bonus of $50,000. This on top of the fight of the night and submission of the night bonus ($75,000 each), banking her $300,000 before sponsor bonuses.

Tate took in $28,000 in her loss, with $75,000 for the Fight of the Night bonus.

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Pink Fight Brazil has announced it’s next all female card for January 18.

Five fights are set for the event:

• Aline Sério vs. Elaine Caverna (57kg)
• Edilaine vs. Rayane Abreu (52kg)
• Amanda Torres vs. Carla Ellen (52kg)
• Dayana Silva vs. Evelin Gomes (61kg)
• Helen Bastos vs. Priscila (61kg)

The promotion also announced they will have another card in March.

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Patricia Vidonic will returns to action January 18 as she takes on XFC vet Brianna Van Buren at RWCF at the Win River Casino in Redding, California.

Vidonic (9-6) is coming off a split decision win over vetreran fighter Mei Yamaguchi this past October. She is looking to make it two in a row against VanBuren (1-1) who is coming off a decsion loss to XFC champ Stephanie Eggink. VanBuren started her pro career with a KO over Charlene Gellner.

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Also on the 18th,  Tyra Parker will take on Kristi Lopez at Gladiator’s Challenge in El Cajon, CA. Parker (3-3) is coming off an upset win over Michelle Gutierrez by submission this past August. Lopez (3-1 ammy) will be making her pro debut after defeating Kari Lichtenwalner by split decision at Tuff-n-uff last spring.

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Both Suzie Montero and Allanna Jones are looking to snap two fight losing streaks when they square off at MaxxFC in Daytona Beach, FL February 1.

Montero (1-2) won her debut fight against Kim Couture, but had a TKO loss to the UFC’s Jessamyn Duke and a submission loss to current XFC champion Pearl Gonzales.

Jones won a split decision in the quarterfinals of the CFA tournament last spring to Kelsey De Santis before losing to Fallon Fox by submission in the semi-finals. She was KOed by Holly Holm this past July.

No word on if the event will be streamed.

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Hoosier Fight Club will be crowning its first female champion February 8th in Valparaiso, Indiana. Elane Santiago will take on Anne Malinoff for the promotion’s amateur 105 title.

Sanitago is undefeated and the SFCL strawweight champion. Malinoff has won three straight.

No word on if this will be streamed.

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Miesha Tate was featured on the Fitness Gurl website last month. You can see her photo spread here.

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USA Network’s “Characters Unite” did a piece on 13 year old female wrestler Rebecca Pizuto, who has been bullied and ridiculed for wanting to do the sport she loves. NFL player Nick Mangold (whose sister played football in high school) introduced Rebecca to several female wrestlers including Betsy Montanez, who wrestled for Montclair State and currently coaches both men’s and women’s wrestling.

You can watch the video here.

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On the podcast Friday, we will have veteran fighter Jen Tate, who will be making her way back to the cage in 2014 after pursuing Muay Thai and boxing the past few years.

You can listen live here Sunday at 1 p.m. pst/4 p.m. est.

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Rumors

It has been stated Sara McMann knew a month before Rousey versus Tate II that she would be facing Rousey in February. McMann had stated camp then, but she “has been training for Rousey for years.”

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InvictaFC president Shannon Knapp told us that we should expect champions Michelle Waterson and Cyborg Santos to defend their belts on one of the first two InvictaFC cards of the year. No word on who will be defending their title first or when the cards will be.

She also stated has signed two or three fighters in the New Year, but hasn’t announced who yet.

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Cage Warriors will hold their next event in London February 15. Amanda Kelly will be fight a yet to be named opponent.

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Scheduled Fights

There are no pro MMA fights this weekend.

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Ammy MMA

In amateur MMA action:

• At Reality Fighting in Uncasville, Connecticut, Sarah Payant faces Brigitte Narcise
• Latrisha Breidenbach takes on Kara Gehrig at Kickdown 112 in Denver, Colorado
• At Ultimate Reno Combat in Reno, NV, Brieta Carpenter battles Jordan Raulston while Nicole Upshaw will also be in action.

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Boxing

In the only female boxing match this weekend, Daniela Romina Bermudez will face Linda Laura Lecca for the vacant WBO super flyweight title.

Bermudez (15-2) has won 10 straight and is the current interim WBA super flyweight champion. Lecca (8-1-1) win five straight with 3 TKOs in her last three fights.

The newly relaunched Awakening Fighters website has honored fighters and journalists in the sport of Muay Thai, as voted by the fans.

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Barlow

20 year old British fighter Iman Barlow won the most awards, gaining Fighter, Inspirational Fighter, and Fight of the Year in her bout with Filippa Correia. Barlow is a second generation fighter with both parents having held titles in Muay Thai. She fought her first kickboxing bout in Thailand at age 8, and would compete against boys due to the lack of female competition. Having over 50 fights and three losses in her career, she is looking to be a breakout star in 2014. You can read more about Barlow here and check out her record and titles here.

You can watch the Fight of the Year winner Barlow vs. Correia here.

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Courtesy Galen Okazaki/Can’t Stop Crazy

Speaking of a breakout star, Lion Fights champion Tiffany Van Soest earned herself two awards. The “Time Bomb” picked up “Personality of the Year” and “KO of the Year” with her win over Alexis Rufus. Van Soest (8-0-1) became the first 125 pound champion for Lion Fight by defeating Lucy Payne. She won four fights this year, starting out with the KO of Rufus. You can check out Van Soests record and titles here.

You can watch Van Soest’s KO over Rufus here.

Huxley

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The Breakout Fighter of the year went to 16 year old Lauren Huxley, who we had the privileged to feature on our “Future Stars” column this past July. Huxley turned pro this past May and went 3-1 in Muay Thai. She also won a K-1 rules bout. You can read her record and title wins here.

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Other fighter based award winners announced include Australian Lorryn Williams as “Amateur Fighter of the Year” (profile here) and San Diego’s Blue Ocean Muay Thai as “Gym of the Year”.

Las Vegas based Lion Fights won “Promotion of the Year”.

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Hayward

Sky (left) with WBC champ Geraldine O’Callaghan

Three media based awards were also handed out. The Female Muay Thai Group on Facebook won “Media Resource of the Year”. The group is maintained by Rosy Hayward, with many contributes from journalists to fans posting stories and content. Hayward in particular keeps up with upcoming Muay Thai fights and posts results.

Muay Tash writer Natasha Sky won “Journalist of the Year”. The 30 year old fighter writes a regular blog about her experiences fighting and train, and along the way has become a part of the media, getting interview with some of the top females in the sport.

Lion Fights resident photographer Scott Hirano took the Award for Photographer of the Year.

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Voting for the Awakening Fighters WMMA Awards ends Sunday. We are privileged to be up for two awards.

You can vote for your favorites here.

Two honorary WMMA Press Awards were given out Saturday on the Wombat Sports podcast.

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Wyatt

The WMMA Press Association’s “Might Mia Inspirational Fighter of the Year” is an award that goes to a fighter that fights the odds and does something extraordinary that inspires other female fighters.

Amateur fighter Susie Wyatt has been honored this year. At the age of 48, Wyatt has amassed a 6-2 record having only started fighting in MMA three years ago. She went 2-1 this year with a 39 second armbar. The “Mama Beast” is also helping the next generation of fighters, both male and female. She may have started late, but Wyatt has proven that it’s never too late to train.

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Osborne with Miesha Tate

The WMMA Press Legacy Award is something the committee bestows on a non-fighter who has helped the sport develop and help give women a platform to showcase their talent. The award is something the committee only hands out when they find an individual worthy of it.

This year, the committee decided to honor a pioneer in the WMMA community who was one of the first to give female fighters a place to fight.

Hook-n-Shoot promoter Jeff Osborne held the first ever all female card in the US in 2002. The card feature the pro debut of veteran Tara LaRosa. Osborne would continue to feature female fighters on his cards, and continue to hold all female events. He helped start the careers of Julie Kedzie, Miesha Tate, Roxanne Modafferi, Lisa Ellis and Kiatlin Young among others.

Osborne also started the “GFight Summit”, a gathering for female fighters to help network and give seminars in all aspects of MMA.

Without Osborne’s vision, we probably wouldn’t have seen the rise of WMMA in the US in the form of InvictaFC and the female division’s acceptance in the UFC.

You can listen to Wyatt and Osbourne accept their awards here.

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You can see some of the already announced winners of the WMMA Press Awards 2013 here.

Monday, the ProWMMANow podcast will be handing out the awards for Knockout and Newcomer of the Year at 7 p.m. pst/10 p.m. est. You can listen here.

Wednesday the rest of the awards – Fighter, featherweight, bantamweight, flyweight, strawweight, and amateur fighter of the year winners will be handed out on on the Promoting Real Women podcast. You can listen here.

It didn’t take long into 2014 to have several fighters announcing their first pro bout of their careers.

With some spots available at Invicta now the promotion has lost some strawweights and their plans on doing more cards, fighters have been wanting to show their worth. Invicta still hasn’t announced their next card, so many fighters are turning to other promotions who have been happy to give these women their opportunity to turn professional.

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Cooper

Dugas

One of the most intriguing matches announced is between Amanda Bobby Cooper (8-3 ammy) taking on Brittany Dugas (7-0 ammy) in a flyweight match at King of the Cage in Walker, MN February 15.

Cooper finished her last four fights, with three of them by TKO. Dugas is the Cage of Honor champion and had wins over Susie Wyatt and Katy Collins.

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Another prospect, Delaney Owen, announced she is turning pro taking on 4-2 pro Sarah Alpar at Sugar Creek Showdown January 25th in Hinton, OK.

Owen (7-2) won her past three fighters, with a submission over Sarah Payant. Alpar won two of her past three including a decision won over Locelyn Lybarger.

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Danielle Taylor (6-0 ammy) will have one more amateur fight before she turns pro in March. Taylor will face Wendy Julian, defending her King of the Cage amateur strawweight title January 10th in Laughlin, Nevada.

Win or lose, Taylor will face Maia Stevenson at King of the Cage in Highland, CA March 6th in what will be Taylor’s pro debut.

Pena

Andrade

The Ultimate Fighter winner Julianna Pena will be back in action March 15.

Fox Sports announced Pena will take on Jessica Andrade at UFC 171 in Dallas.

Pena (5-2) won the first ever female bantamweight “Ultimate Fighter” title after defeating Jessica Rakoczy in the finals. She upset tournament favorite Shayna Baszler in the quarterfinals of the tournament and avenge a loss to Sarah Moras in the semi-finals on her way to the title.

Andrade (10-3) got her first UFC win, getting an unanimous decision over veteran Rosi Sexton.  She won three of her past 5 fights, and a submission of the year nomination with her submission over Milana Dudieva.

The match is expected to a part of the televised prelims on Fox Sports 1 March 15.

Holm

Gray

Two fighters were honored for the Knockout of the Year at the WMMA Press Awards Monday night.

Holly Holm’s head kick KO if Allanna Jones at Legacy and Alida Gray 5 second punch KO 5 over Soannia Tiem at 24/7 MMA tied for the honor in the committee voting. Both are undefeated in MMA.

You can watch Holm’s award winning KO here.

You can watch Gray’s award winning KO here.

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Gray also was announced as Pro Newcomer of the Year. Having only turning pro this past June, she went 4-0 and had finished her fights, with 3 TKOs and 1 submission. Gray will face #1 strawweight Jessica Aguilar for the first ever WSOP 115 title on January 18th on NBC Sports Network.

You can listen to Gray accept her award on the ProWMMANow podcast here.

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You can read the rest of the announced award winners here.

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The WMMA Press Association will be giving away the rest of the awards on Promoting Real Women podcast Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. pacific/9 p.m. est here.

One of the best sites for female boxing news, WBAN.com announced their 2013 Awards. The site asked its fans for suggestions and came up with the winners after careful deliberations.

Silva

Fighter of the year went to WBC light flyweight champ Ibeth Zamora Silva, who went 4-0 this year including Naoko Shibata and Ava Knight.

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The Jelena Mrdjenovich versus Melissa Hernandez war for the WBC featherweight title was sited as “The Bloodiest Contest in 2013″. The fight went six rounds before the rferee was forced to stop the contest to go to a technical decision. Mrdjenovich would get the nod.

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Three fighters were given the “Top Knockout” award – Riyo Togo first round upset TKO over Mariana Juarez for the vacant WBC International super flyweight title; Oxandia Castillo second round KO of Hanna Gabriel for the WBO light middleweight title; and Diana Prazak 8th round KO over Frida Wallberg for the WBC super featherweight title.

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Rola El Halabi and Martha Salazar were honored for “Comebacks of the Year”. El Halabi returned to the ring after a year and half absence being shot by her former manager father. After a six year absence, Salazar returned with a win over Sonya Lamonakis to re-enter the rankings.

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Kaliesha “Wild Wild” West’s video message to Floyd Mayweather helped her win the “Most Outspoken Female Boxer” award. West’s video went viral in the women’s fight community as a whole (boxing, kickboxing and MMA).

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Most Inspirational Boxers of 2013 included Sulem Urbina Soto,
Tori “Sho-Nuff” Nelson, and Layla “Amazing” McCarter.

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Among those who have helped behind the scenes, “Beautiful Brawlers” promoter Blanca Gutierrez was honored with the “Female Boxing Advocate of the Year”. Gutierrez has put on an all day all female boxing event in the Bay Area for the past three year.

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Trainer of the year went to Lucia Rijker, who has worked with a lot of amateur and pro talent out of L.A. including Diana Prazak and Myriam Lamare. Rijker has also helped UFC MMA champion Ronda Rousey with her striking.

You can read a complete list of the awards here.

We are please to see the growth of WMMA in 2013, and many websites and media outlets have opening their minds to allowing female fighters into their awards.

A lot of them are fan voting, so if you have a favorite fighter, here is where you can show your support.

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Fighters Only World MMA Awards

(Can vote only once per e-mail)

Although we are disappointed the Invicta and female lifestyle brands weren’t well represented this year, there are a few fighters that have broke some barriers.

Rose Namajunas is up against the guys for “Submission of the Year”, as is Michelle Waterson for “Comeback of the Year”.

“Female Fighter of the Year” has a great cross section of the women’s division with the UFC champ Ronda Rousey looking to repeat her award. Joining her is current UFC signee and Invicta star Joanne Calderwood; UFC title contender Alexis Davis; UFC fighter Jessica Eye; and undefeated boxer-turned-MMA fighter Holly Holm.

Only two companies up for “Promotion of the Year” had WMMA in 2013 – Cage Warriors (10 fights) and UFC (15 fights). UFC typically wins this category every year, but would be nice to see Cage Warriors surprise everyone by winning this year.

The awards will be handed out February 7th at the Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

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Promoting Real Women Awards

(Can vote once a day)

Jason Adams of “Promoting Real Women…” has done his website’s awards for the past four years. The awards covers more than just WMMA, including fitness modeling and bodybuilding.

We have been honored to be nominated for their Media Award.

Among the WMMA Awards up for grabs is the Breakout, Most Improved, and Julie Kedzie Most Exciting Fighter Award.

Voting ends January 20, with the winners being announced January 21 on the Promoting Real Women Podcast.

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Bloody Elbow WMMA Awards

(Vote once a day)

Bloody Elbows has one of the main stream websites that did a full-fledged WMMA Awards this year.

Here are the links to vote for each categories:

• Fighter of the Year
• Fight of the Year
• Round of the Year
• Comeback of the Year
• KO of the Year
• Submission of the Year

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Maxim 100

(Can vote once a day)

We know this isn’t technically a WMMA Award, but it’s well worth a mention.

Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey are battling out again this time against 98 other women who probably don’t know how to armbar people.

There is a “write-in” in case you want to start a campaign to add your favorite fighter.

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Bluegrass MMA

(Can vote once a day)

The Kentucky based website are only recognizing the amateur female fighters, and giving out three awards to them – Fighter, Fight, and Rookie.

Voting ends January 11.

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MMA Insider

(Can vote once a day)

MMA Insider covers Southern MMA including the Carolinas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Virginia. Most of the categories have both male and female fighters on the list.

Many of the female nominees have been leading in in the polls, but they still need your votes.

Voting ends January 13th.

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Georgia Fighters MMA/Boxing Awards

(Vote once a day)

We are predicting Atlanta will be a breakout city for WMMA in 2014. The talent there has yet to see national exposure but it’s way overdue.

Georgia Fighters covers more than just MMA. They also profile boxing and Muay Thai. They are honoring females in all the sports in their awards.

We would be remiss not to mention boxing trainer, gym owner, and former World champion Terri moss is up for several awards, including being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Voting ends January 16th. The winner will be announced at Wild Bill’s in Atlanta, GA.

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Osvaldo Paqueta Awards

(Vote once a day)

The Osvaldo Paqueta to honor Brazil’s best MMA fighters and voting is across many Brazilian websites.

In the female fighter category, the nominees are

• Herica Tiburcio (7-2; 2-1 in 2013)
• Julie Werner (7-3; 2-0 in 2013)
• Kalindra Faria (12-3; 5-0 in 2013)
• Larissa Pacheco (9-0; 5-0 in 2013)
• Talita Treta (6-0; 2-0 in 2013)

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Honchak

InvictaFC champion Barb Honchak has been awarded “Fighter of the Year” by the WMMA Press Association. The announcement was made on the Promoting Real Women podcast Wednesday.

Honchak (9-2) went 2-0 in 2013, gaining and then defending the promotion’s flyweight title. Honchak’s win over Leslie Smith was nominated for “Fight of the Year”.

Honchak won the “Flyweight of the Year” as well, which made her eligible for the “Fighter of the Year” award. Others available for the award were the divisional winners.  The committee awarded Atomweight of the Year to Michelle Waterson this past Friday.

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Rousey

Torres

“Bantamweight of the Year” went to UFC champion Ronda Rousey, who successfully defended her title twice this year and improves to 8-0 with all wins by armbar. Rousey will face fellow Olympian and undefeated fighter Sara McMann at UFC 171 in Vegas February 22.

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Tecia Torres took the “Strawweight of the Year” after going 3-0 in 2013. Torres’s biggest win came with a unanimous decision over Felice Herrig in December. Torres is currently signed with ten other fighters for “The Ultimate Fighter 20″.

Cyborg

Zomchik

“Featherweight of the Year” went to Cyborg Justino, who also went 2-0 this year. She defeated Marloes Coenen to win the InvictaFC featherweight title by TKO this past July.

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“Amateur Fighter of the Year” went to Tuff-n-uff featherweight tournament champion Jessica Zomchik (9-3), who went 3-0 in 2013. Zomchik finished both of her tournament bouts in the second round, one by armbar and one by TKO. She announced she is planning on going pro this year.

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You can hear Honchak, Torres, and Zomchik accept their awards here. 

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Rousey vs. Carmouche

Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche’s historic meeting in February in the UFC’s first female bout won “Headline of the Year”.

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You can read a complete list of the 2013 WMMA Press Association Awards winners here.

One of the premier general boxing sites Bad Left Hook released their female boxing awards this week.

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Acuna

Among the winners is Marcela Acuna, the current WBC world and WBC Silver super bantamweight champion, taking the Fighter of the year honors. Acuna’s match with Yesica Patricia Marcos headlined “The Event of the Year.”

You can watch Acuna versus Marcos here.

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The rematch between Mariana Juarez and Riyo Togo took home the Match and Round of the Year honors. Juarez would win the WBC International super flyweight title in the ten round war. It was the last round that took the second award.

You can watch the Jaurez vs. Togo II fight here.

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“KO of the Year” went to Oxandia Castillo, whose knockout of Hanna Gabriel was a true KO, which many pundits state are rarer in the female divisions.

You can watch the KO here.

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Prospect of the Year went to Heather Hardy, who went 4-0 this year with 2 TKOs. She won the first ever Universal Boxing Federation (UBF) International super bantamweight title.

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You can read about the rest of the award winners and nominees here.

I wanted to take a moment on our 2000th post to thank the readers for your continued support. When I started this site in 2011, it was embarking into unknown waters with the hope that women’s combat sports could have a home of its own.

As much as WMMA is my first love, we have tried to branch out to many other disciplines as female fighters in all combat sports deserve some exposure. The current popularity of WMMA has prompted more attention towards these sports and we hope we can jump on the opportunity to help get some crossover support for freestyle wrestling, boxing, BJJ, kickboxing, Muay Thai, and other sports in which women compete to test themselves as an individual.

The WMMA community as a whole has seen more female MMA based websites, and more main stream MMA sites cover female fights. I am happy to see it as more fighters are getting exposure.

As we head into 2014, I hope to expand more coverage and help not only other sports, but get exposure to regional and international fighters who may become the stars of tomorrow. This also extends our commitment to profile the future of women’s combat sports with our “Future Stars” column.

I have always taken suggestions from readers and will continue to do so. If you have a fighter you want to profile, or a topic you’d like me to look into, please feel free to comment, tweet or facebook us.

I would like to thank the WMMA journalist community who I have had the pleasure to meet way before this site started. Rob Sargent of MMARising.com, Tim Peterson of WMMA Today, and Kristin Ursy & Veronica Locurto of WMMA Round-up.

To the new journalists I have met this year, welcome to the community.

I am looking forward to 2014, and expect this year to be bigger than the last.

Gray

Matt Brown sustained some heat from female fight fans Thursday as he made two radical statements about the fairer sex on a podcast.

The first was “female fighters should fight topless”, which was one that caused an apology from his employer, the UFC, and himself Thursday night.

The second statement was that “females don’t have KO power”. There are many examples of how Brown is definitely wrong about this, but Wombat Sports decided to ask the most recent winner of the “WMMA Press Awards KO of the Year” Alida Gray about her knockout last year during the World Series of Fighting conference call Thursday.

“In the fight against Soannia Tiem, my coach and I with my teammates practiced that overhand right for about two weeks, and he got into my face and said ‘Throw the overhand right. She’s going to be there. She’s not going to move. Just throw it.’”

“The bell rang, I got the closest I could to Soannia and I three the overhand right. It landed perfectly and I knocked her out.”

You can watch Gray’s award winning KO here.

Gray’s knockout wasn’t a fluke by any means. As a child, she had good technique with her punches training under her father.

“When I was growing up, my father was a karate black belt and we would have contests to see who could punch him the hardest. At the end would always win. He always stated ‘you punch hard!’”

Gray is hoping to take some of that power and use it to upset the #1 strawweight on the planet Jessica Aguilar January 18th for the WSOF’s first ever female title. Even though Gray has solid striking in her back pocket, she is open to winning any way she can.

“I’m not going to predict what is going to happen in the fight against Jessica. If I knock her out, great! If I tap her out that is also great. I’m just looking for a win however it comes, I’ll take it.”

When it came to Brown and his comments about KO power, WSOF matchmaker Ali Abdel-Aziz had the last word.

“I think if Alida hit Matt Brown, she would knock out Matt Brown, too.”

The World Series of Fighting 8 card will air on NBC Sports Net Saturday January 18 from the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, FL.

Miscellaneous News

Kelly

Howarth

Cage Warriors has announce their next women’s bantamweight for their first card of the year in London, England February 15.

Kickboxer Amanda Kelly (1-0) will look for her second pro win as she takes on “Ultimate Fighter” cast-off Laura Howarth (1-0).

Kelly’s knee KO over Hannah Stephens this past October gained her the nomination for KO or the Year in 2013. Howarth went undefeated in her semi-pro career and defeated Emma Delaney in her Cage Warriors debut in December.

The promotion states one more female bout will be added to the card in the next week or so.

The fight is expected to stream live and free on MMAJunkie.com February 15.

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South African fighter Santa-Marie Venter will become the first ever female fighter from her country to compete in MMA as she faces Maddy Simmons in a amateur bout at Full Nelson Promotions’ Ground & Pound: USA vs. South Africa January 18th at the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen, Minnesota.

Venter has a karate background, but her brother is a nationally ranked wrestler in her homeland, which has helped round out her game. Simmons is a talented submission specialist who got a rare von fluke choke in early 2013.

No word on if the match will be streamed.

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Amateur prospect Shannon Culpepper will defend her Spartan Combat League title against Heather Sachleben in Denver January 25th.

Culpepper (4-1) is coming off a TKO win over Latrisha Breidenback October, defending her title for the first time. Denny (6-1) is coming off five straight wins.

No word on if this will be streamed.

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Co-host of the ProWMMA Now podcast Emily Bartee will make her long awaited MMA debut as she takes on fellow debuter Amy Holland at Hard Rock MMA 60 in February 1st in Shepardsville, KY. The match will take place at 155.

The promotion is expected to announce at least one more female bout.

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KSW champion Karolina Kowalkiewicz, undefeated Cage Warriors fighter Agnieszka Niedzwiedz, and Lena Tkhorevska will be hold a female only sparring camp in Lodz, Poland January 23-26.

The camp happens twice a year, and it is a great opportunity for European to train with some of the continent’s best fighters.

It is 230 zloty/55 Euro. More info can be found at Gracie Barra Lodz’s facebook.

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After taking a detour in MMA, Monica Lovato will return to her boxing roots as she will take on Hondi Hernandez at the Buffalo Thunder Casino in Santa Fe, NM January 25.

Lovato (12-1 boxing, 5-3 MMA) last saw boxing action in 2008 and soon transitioned to MMA, going on a four fight win streak before losing to current InvcitaFC flyweight champion Barb Honchak. She lost to Sarah Alpar in 2012 in her last MMA fight.

Lovato is the former NABF female super flyweight and International Boxing Association bantamweight champion.

Hernandez (5-5) is also making a return to the ring. Her last fight was in 2010, and is hoping to snap a five fight losing streak.

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We recommend you check out this interview with Rosy Hayward, whose “Female Muay Thai on Facebook” page won Awakening’s “Female Muay Thai Media Resource of the Year”.

We also recommend you joing the group if you are a female fight fan, especially outside the U.S.

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On the podcast Saturday, we will have veteran fighter Jen Tate, who will be making her way back to the cage in 2014 after pursuing Muay Thai and boxing the past few years.

You can listen live here Sunday at 1 p.m. pst/4 p.m. est.

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Rumors

Michele Gutierrez tweet us she is “basically done with MMA”.

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Added to the list of people trying out is Tyra Parker. Who won’t be trying out is Alida Gray, who is currently signed to a three fight contract to WSOF and has a title match next week.

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Scheduled Matches

MMA

Strawweight prospect Amber Stautzenberger is looking for her 5th straight win as she takes on veteran fighter Lynn Alvarez at DatokaFC in Fargo, ND on Saturday.

Stautzenberger  (4-1) is coming off a win over InvictaFC vet Lacey Schuckman. Bellator vet Alvarez (5-3) is coming off back to back losses to Unified #1 ranked Jessica Aguilar and former InvictaFC champion Carla Esparza.

Both tipped the scales at 116 pounds Friday night.

The fight will stream on Midwestfightshop.com for $5 at 5:30 p.m. pst/8:30 p.m. est  Saturday night.

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Dynasty Combat Sports will have three fight streaming free Saturday night.

In the pro main event, undefeated Jozette Cotton (3-0) will take on DCS vet Jessica Halverson (4-2)  in a 160 pound catch-weight bout.

Two amateur fights are set as Sydney Sallach faces Casi Lee in a strawweight battle, and Mercedes Timmerman tangles with Janie Konyek in a 150 catch weight war.

You can watch all three matches live and free at P2cn.tv at 6 p.m. pst/9 p.m. est.

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K-1

In what we are hoping is a trend in female kickboxing, Melanie Brockmann will face Lina Kotanidou under K-1 rules at Happy New Heroic Battle in Herne, Germany Saturday.

Under K-1 rules, you cannot use elbows and the matches are three 5 minutes rounds, with an extra round if there is a draw. GLORY has held non-televised female K-1 bouts in the past and the hope of the ladies will get their shot on the main card soon.

No word on if the Brockmann versus Kotanidou at the HNHB card will be streamed.

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Boxing

In boxing action this weekend:

In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Norma Elizabeth Diaz Caucota faces Yessika Flavia Munoz

Sanae Jah takes on Sandy Coget in Liege, Belgium

In four bouts in Razgrad, Bulgaria:

• Galina Gumliiska vs. Stefani Radeva
• Kremena Petkova vs. Anna Savova
• Borislava Goranova vs. Tzanka Karova
• Svetla Taskova vs. Aleksandra Petrova

A brilliant article came up this past week in the Female Muay Thai Group on Facebook. Muay Thai fighter Emma Thomas of “Under the Ropes” explored the idea of a “fight record” and how those numbers can be deceiving. She made some brilliant points, many that can crossover to other combat sports, and how a lot of journalists, like myself, cover them.

Coming from a journalistic prospective, I use records a lot, as do many sports reporters. I am usually pretty formulaic when it comes to making a fight announcement and that usually contains the fighters’ records and if they are on any certain streak. I also mention some of their notable wins, which enhances how good that individual is. I can’t go into a lot of detail since I don’t have a time to write a complete history of a fighter in each and every post. Nowadays, readers usually like their articles straight and to the point since many don’t have time to read a novel about an upcoming fight.

Thomas was writing from a fighter’s prospective on her article, and notes that a fighter shouldn’t take the number as seriously as what the fight outcome meant; e.g. a measuring stick on who they fought, what they learned, and how they have and can improve. Many fans can learn from this.

Thomas mentioned in the article:

“In the West (The Americas), there seems to be more of an emphasis on perfect records, with undefeated status being perhaps the ultimate achievement. Of course, being undefeated may well be the mark of a great fighter, but that is not to say that a fighter with a less impressive record may not also be great.”

Modafferi

One of the best examples of this is Roxanne Modafferi. As much as Modafferi has lost her past 6 fights, the losses were against some of the toughest in the 125 and 135 division including former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman, and current InvictaFC champion Barb Honchak. Even though she is losing, she still has a legion of fans at her back and is considered a great fighter.

Same can be said of Molly Helsel. Even though she has an 8-13 record, she has put on “Fight of the Night” performances in a good portion of her losses.

Thomas also goes on to talk about the quality of wins. I have know several fighters who have “padded their records” as undefeated fighters in my years of covering WMMA, and many times this does more of a disservice than anything. As a promoter, you may be able to make money off making someone a star, but there is always the risk of someone upsetting the apple cart or fighters being less and less willing to fight just so the “star” can get an easy win. As a fighter, you may feel you aren’t testing yourself and ultimately not feel motivated. Not to mention ranking committees, like them or not, not ranking you due to not fighting high quality opponents.  

As for the losses themselves, they can be deceiving as well. Way too many times I have heard decisions go the wrong way, and even though we may disagree, it still stands as a loss in the record books. There are also sometimes when there are split decisions and the fans are evenly split down the middle on who won.

Haga with Joachim Hansen

Weight can also be a factor. An example is MMA fighter Celine Haga.  Having gone 1-11 in her first dozen bouts, Haga dropped from 115 to 105. After the drop, she went on a four fight win streak. Even though her record is 5-12 now, it doesn’t reflect her now 4-1 atomweight record.

We should also mentioned in Haga’s only loss at 105, her opponent came in overweight.

Thomas goes to point out other factors, including undisclosed injuries and health factors, but there is always a choice to or to not fight at 100%. Injuries during a fight can also show as a loss, even though they may have been winning (see Miriam Nakamoto versus Lauren Murphy at InvictaFC 7). Emotional states can also be something that factors in.

The point is two or three numbers doesn’t tell a whole story. Most matchmakers worth their muster are aware of this. We also need to keep this in mind as journalists and fans – know that not every win or loss is as it seems, and don’t be so quick to jump off the bandwagon because of one loss.

As for those fighters under .500, there is always hope there if you are willing, able, and you have the mental strength to know you can get better every day. Dropping a weight class wouldn’t hurt either.

Rousey

The Awakening Fighters WMMA Awards ended their voting this past week and the numbers are in for the winners.

In the “Fighter of the Year” category, Ronda Rousey took home the award with 29.28% of the vote. Holly Holm came in second with 19.32% and Julianna Pena third with about 9.48%. Rousey would also take “Inspirational Fighter” with 21.19% of the vote.

Rousey versus Tate II tookn home the “Fight of the Year” 35.32% of the vote. Tate’s fight with Cat Zingano took second at 15.26%, and third went to Jessamyn Duke versus Raquel Pennington on “The Ultimate Fighter” with 10.50%.

Tate would get “Personality of the Year”, edging out Rousey 25.35% to 23.27% .

The divisional awards mimicked the WMMA Press Awards:

• Featherweight – Cyborg Justino (28.56%)
• Bantamweight – Ronda Rousey (28.44%)
• Flyweight – Barb Honchak (21.45%)
• Straaweight – Tecia Torres (22.95%)
• Atomweight – Michelle Waterson (26.85%)

Honchak in particular beat Leslie Smith by only 0.15%.

In the only vote that got a clear majority, Holly Holm took the KO of the Year with 54.46%.

Rose Namajunas takes home yet another “Submission of the Year” award as she got 31.20% of the vote.

Tecia Torres gets the “Newcomer of the Year” award, taking home 27.30% of the vote. The second and third places were close as Jessica Rakoczy takes the runner-up spot with 14.82% and Namajunas takes third at 14.30%.

Amateur fighter of the year was a close race with three fighters within a percent of each other. Rachael Ostovich won with 16.64% of the vote. Aspen Ladd takes second with 16.25%, and Marina Shafir with 15.99%.

UFC took “Promotion of the Year” 44.07% of the vote. Invicta was just 2.6% behind them with 41.47%.

Harley Davidson (15.96%) and Jackson/Winkeljohn MMA (19.88%) took home Sponsor and Gym respectfully.

MMA Junkie took “Media Resource” with 28.84% of the vote. Sherdog and MMA Fighting were tied for second (10.92%), and us here at Wombat Sports took fourth (10.36%).

Editors note: Even though we lost, we had the highest percentage of any WMMA only website, and to be so close to two other main websites is a honor. Shout out to Rob Sargent of MMA Rising who does a lot of the WMMA coverage for MMA Junkie.

Journalist went to two-dimensional person, literally. Cartoon Tommy Toe Hold took the award with 18.87% of the vote. UFC Tonight and MMA Heat correspondent Karyn Bryant took second with 15.13%, and WMMA Round-up’s Kristin Ursy took third with 10.20%.

Rounding out the awards, All Elbows’ own Ester Lin took the “Photographer of the Year” with (28.48%). Tracy Lee took second with 15.13%.

You can see the complete breakdowns here.

One of the tools we have that many might not be aware of is our twitter directories.

The lists help fighters and fans connect, and you can see news and comments directly from your favorite fighter.

We have divided them into four different categories for easier viewing:

• WMMA: Fighters mainly fighting MMA
• Striking Arts: Boxing, Tae Kwon Do, Muay Thai, and Kickboxing
• Grappling Arts: BJJ, Judo, and Wrestling
• Future Stars: Fighters under 18 that we have featured in our “Future Stars” column.

If you are a fighter or know of a fighter not on out twitter directories, please tweet us @WombatSports.

Tate

Carmouche

Miesha Tate and Liz Carmouche will finally throw down and it will be national TV.

The UFC announced the match for the UFC on Fox 11 card in Orlando, FL April 19th.

Tate (13-5) is coming off a loss to champion Ronda Rousey in a rematch, but was the first to take the champ past the first round. Tate is looking for her first UFC win.

Carmouche (9-4) is coming off an unanimous decision loss to Alexis Davis. Currently 1-2 in the UFC, Carmouche is looking to get back in the title picture with a win.

The match will air on Fox April 19th.

We are already a few weeks into 2014 and the WMMA community is buzzing with what has already been announced.

Coming off an action packed year, it’s time to look ahead to what is going to happen this year and what to look out for.

Calderwood

The Ultimate Fighter 20 Will Draw Huge Numbers

This isn’t necessarily a prediction as much as a really educated guess. Here is why.

The first female cast had better numbers then their male counterparts on The Ultimate Fighter 18. Some could say the live viewers were lower than previous years, but you need to factor in DVR ratings, online viewing, and it was on Fox Sports 1, which isn’t on a basic cable channel.

What this season has going for it is established stars and a cast that is known far in advance. The media exposure is over a longer term, giving it some momentum and build into the season.

The international cast from Australia, Scotland, and Brazil will draw a lot of viewers international.

Most importantly, the personalities are bigger and the stakes are higher with a title belt on the line.  A lot of drama will bring in a big female audience.

This all factors into what will be a big season.

Rothenhausler vs. Malungahu

InvictaFC Will be on a TV Network Before Summer

This is pretty much fact as InvictaFC President Shannon Knapp told us she has been offered several deals by networks to have the promotion’s cards on TV. The hope seems to be this will happen within the next two cards, with a trial run possible.

Internet ppv is on the outs for now, as way too many complications have forced them to give back much needed income. Satellite and cable PPV will still be around if a tv deal isn’t done on the next card.

Tate

Veterans Will Return to the Cage

Kelly Kobold was supposed to debut last month at Invicta, but will the third time be the charm for her to actually make it to the cage?

One person we do know is coming back to MMA is Jen Tate. She told us on the Wombat Sports podcast she will be juggling between boxing and MMA, with her first MMA match in four years in April. She also told us she is dropping to 115.

A solid rumor is Kerry Vera will be returning this year. One of the stars of “Fight Girls” (as was Tate), Vera is 2-0 with a notable win over Leslie Smith. She took some time off due to injury, but there was a video of her last year training and she looks better than ever.

The Year of the Atomweights and Lightweights will Make their Mark

With strawweights and bantamweights in the UFC, it will serve as an opportunity for Invicta to develop other divisions. The atomweights will see a lot of new blood this year, as more amateur American 105ers make their move to pro, and many 115ers drop down once again. We have seen an influx in both late last year.

After getting themselves organize last year, it’s only a matter of one or two Invicta cards before we see the debut of the lightweights. Having had some fights last year in other promotions, the 155ers are ready for the big time. I am also predicting they will be ranked this year (probably in the fall) once the Invicta opportunities start coming.

Another factor is featherweights having to cut so much weight. This gives fighters like Veronica Rothenhausler and Cyborg Justino a better, less dangerous cut to 155.

Nicolini

The Best in BJJ Will Crossover into MMA

Last year, ADCC under 60 kg winner Michelle Nicolini stated she is going to re-start her MMA career, and ADCC runner-up Luana Alzuguir stating she will also seek the cage in 2014. Nicolini (1-0) made her MMA debut in 2011 with an armbar over Cristina Mejia in the first round. Alzuguir has yet to fight MMA, but is training to do so.

There isn’t much money or exposure in BJJ in general, with the ladies not getting any opportunities in the Metamoris BJJ pro league.

MMA offers exposure, sponsors, and money to these top level BJJ fighters, and with the success of Ronda Rousey, they may see just as much success in the cage.

Van Soest courtesy Lion Fights

Female Kickboxing Making Huge Strides

Lion Fights started something in 2013. The prominence of kickboxing was mainly outside the U.S. before the promotion brought a regular televised platform to the U.S. With Tiffany Van Soest and Cyborg leading the charge, LFP will look to continue expand their female roster and with matchmaker Christine Toledo at the helm, we can always expect some exciting female bouts.

GLORY may follow suit. They have held undercard female bouts under K-1 rules, but there is a solid demand from fighters and fans to get the ladies on the main card. Could we see a full fledged tournament? Probably not. Could we see Marloes Coenen go back to her kickboxing roots? We are making the bold prediction she will.

Acuna vs. Marcos 2013

Can Women’s Box Breakout to TV?

The women’s boxing divisions are starting to get it.

It’s not about just fighting hard anymore. It’s about making a statement, and with the social media culture, it is getting better for female boxers to argue their case. This can be best illustrated with Kaliesha West’s viral video to Floyd Mayweather.

The question will be if a promoter will be brave and bold enough to put female fighters on a televised card. Mayweather could be the personality to do so, but we won’t be surprised if some newer promoter will break the boxing mold in the U.S.

TV networks are open to the idea. Boxer Ana Julaton did a great blog post on how tv execs stated they haven’t been approached, and with female boxing generating 40,000 live fans in Argentina, it’s an untapped gold mine.

Someone just needs to pull the trigger, and 2014 seems as good of time as any.