Bellator adds women's flyweights around former UFC title challenger Valerie Letourneau

The Bellator women’s flyweight division just got bigger.

In addition to former UFC title challenger Valerie Letourneau, Bellator announced Friday the signings of five others to its budding division, with Alejandra Lara, Na Liang, Kristi Lopez, Sabriye Sengul, and Juliana Velasquez joining the promotion.

“2017 has been a big year for us in terms of bringing in marquee free agents that can have an immediate impact on their division,” Bellator President Scott Coker said in a statement. “This group of flyweight signings demonstrates that we’re committed to that throughout our roster as we’re adding even more depth to an already-competitive weight class.”

Letourneau (8-6 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) parted ways with the UFC earlier this year after suffering her third consecutive loss in a split decision to Viviane Pereira in December at UFC 206. The departure was mutual as Letourneau regularly struggled to make 115 pounds, and the UFC has said it has no intention to add a 125-pound division in the near future.

Letourneau, 33, began her UFC career at bantamweight with a split-decision win over Elizabeth Philips in June 2014 at UFC 174. Letourneau then decided to make the 20-pound cut to strawweight, which paid off at first. After recording consecutive wins (and becoming the first female in UFC history to win in two divisions), Letourneau received a title shot in November 2015 at UFC 193 but fell short in a unanimous decision to strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Lara (6-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has finished five of her six wins is riding the momentum of back-to-back wins. The 22-year-old Colombian trains alongside UFC fighters Alexa Grasso and Irene Aldama at Team Lobo in Mexico.

Liang (6-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is undefeated in six fights and has proven to be a submission artist, with her last victory coming in 38 seconds. Five of her six wins have failed to go past the first round.

Velasquez (5-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has won all five of her professional fights. The 30-year-old is under the tutelage of the Nogueira brothers in Brazil.

Lopez (2-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and Sengul (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) enter as the most inexperienced of the fighters. Lopez’s Bellator debut will be just her third fight, while Sengul’s debut with the promotion will be her first MMA contest after competing in kickboxing in Turkey.

For more on Bellator’s upcoming schedule, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.