Invicta FC 13's Tonya Evinger on why she won't sign with UFC and wants to be their spoiler

Tonya Evinger remembers well her last conversation with the UFC. It certainly made an impression, and not necessarily a good one.

The women’s bantamweight veteran and Invicta FC regular said she spoke to UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby, who had a blunt assessment of her and her fighting skill.

“He said I was unimpressive,” Evinger (14-6), who Thursday at Invicta FC 13 fights Irene Aldana (5-1) for the promotion’s vacant bantamweight title, said. “I don’t finish fights and I’m unimpressive. Alright.”

If Evinger was a little less secure in herself, the comments might have stung more. But she’s always been a combative in personality as well as occupation.

“The dude’s scrawny himself,” Evinger, speaking of Shelby, told MMAjunkie. “If I ever ran into him at a jiu-jitsu gym, I’m going to wad him up.”

Shelby is restricted by the UFC from commenting to the media, so it’s impossible to get his side of the story. The sting of his words did do some good, though. They’ve motivated Evinger.

In subsequent fights, she’s fought with a passion that may have been missing in previous appearances. She’s won her past six bouts, finishing five of six opponents.

Evinger has a new goal, and that’s to prove the UFC made a mistake. Her next opponent, Aldana, choked out vet Colleen Schneider in just 65 seconds at Invicta FC 11.

It’s not unreasonable to think Aldana could be swooped up by the UFC; Shelby could be in attendance at Thursday’s event, scouting for talent. But if Evinger has anything to do with it, the up-and-comer will leave the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas with a loss on her record. (Invicta FC streams live on UFC Fight Pass.)

“Oh, yeah, I want to spoil everybody’s plans,” she said. “More just UFC. I think everybody plans on whooping me, so I’m just going to get in there, look scrawny and beat the sh-t out of them.

“Not necessarily anything personal toward her – it’s more toward the UFC. They take everybody around me, but not me.”

Of course, with a win over Aldana, some MMA fans would assume she would prove her point and convince the UFC that she’s a valuable addition to the roster. That’s just one part of the equation, though.

Evinger said doesn’t want to fight for the UFC, unless, she said, “unless they’re paying Ronda Rousey money.”

“But I doubt they’re going to offer me big money,” she added. “They’d probably get me in, put me on the sidelines and pay me sh-t. I’d stay here with Invicta – they keep me busy.”

Who knows whether Evinger’s position would hold if a UFC contract actually did materialize. But for the moment, her cause is clear.

“I just like to disappoint the UFC,” she said.

For more on Invicta FC 13, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.