Strawweight women invited to tryouts for 'TUF 20' in April in Las Vegas

Open fighter tryouts for Season 20 of “The Ultimate Fighter” are slated for April 28 in Las Vegas, with women’s strawweights invited.

Las Vegas’ Palace Station Hotel & Casino (2411 W. Sahara Ave.) will host the tryouts for the show, which is expected to begin filming in May for a broadcast starting in September on FOX Sports 1.

“TUF 20? will be the first all-women’s season of the show, which is set to be coached by lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez. The two then will fight for Pettis’ lightweight title after the show finishes airing.

UFC officials today released the details for the open tryout session. Registration begins at 8 a.m. PT local time on the day of the tryouts, which will take place in Palace Station’s Grand Ballroom. Fighters will be expected to go through grappling sessions and hit pads, and are asked to bring appropriate gear for both activities. Candidates must be female and between the ages of 21 and 34. In addition, they must be legally able to live and work in the United States and have a verifiable winning professional MMA record.

Fighters should complete an application in advance, which is to be brought to the tryouts. Applications can be found at ufc.com/tuf20.

Fighters who are selected to take part in the casting finals process will be expected to remain in Las Vegas until May 1. Questions can be directed to tufcasting@ufc.com.

In December, the UFC picked up nearly a dozen fighters from Invicta Fighting Championship in anticipation of opening up its 115-pound division after “TUF 20.” Currently, the UFC only features a 135-pound division for women. The 11 fighters the UFC signed for its inaugural strawweight class all are expected to be part of “TUF 20,” which means 11 spots likely already are filled before the open tryouts.

The two finalists from “TUF 20? are expected to fight for the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight title. The 11 women already under contract are Carla Esparza (9-2), Alex Chambers (4-1), Claudia Gadelha (11-0), Felice Herrig (9-5), Bec Hyatt (5-3), Emily Kagan (3-1), Juliana Lima (6-1), Rose Namajunas (2-1), Tecia Torres (4-0), Paige VanZant (3-1) and Joanne Calderwood (8-0).

“The fans like it, I’m thrilled with it, and we’re going to dive into the 115-pound division,” UFC President Dana White said in December. “We’re invested, we’re in, as far as the women go.”

In March 2013, the UFC recruited male and female bantamweights as contestants on “The Ultimate Fighter 18,” which featured women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and ex-Strikeforce champ Miesha Tate as coaches. White said the success of the co-ed season opened the door for the first all-women season of the show.

(Pictured: Joanne Calderwood)