UFC Inks Top Talents Sara McMann, Alexis Davis to Burgeoning Women’s Division

UFC officials announced the news Tuesday during a media conference call promoting UFC 157. It was not revealed when or where the 135-pound talents will make their Octagon debuts.

UFC 157 takes place Feb. 23 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and is headlined by a women’s bantamweight title tilt pitting reigning queen Ronda Rousey against former Strikeforce contender Liz Carmouche. The evening’s main card airs live on pay-per-view and will also see Dan Henderson square off against Lyoto Machida in a pivotal light heavyweight co-headliner.

A 2004 Olympic wrestling silver medalist, McMann, 32, has been perfect in her transition to MMA, rattling off six straight victories. McMann fought four times in 2011 and twice in 2012, first signing with the reincarnated ProElite before joining the all-female Invicta Fighting Championships. The potent grappler was last seen in her Invicta debut, taking a unanimous decision over submission ace Shayna Baszler.

Like McMann, Davis also most recently competed under the Invicta banner against Baszler, submitting “The Queen of Spades” with a third-round rear-naked choke. The 28-year-old has won five of her last six fights, with her only loss in that span coming in a rematch with former Strikeforce ruler Sarah Kaufman, who took a majority decision from Davis last March.